The Tale of Radiance
by HayashiOkami
Summary: What happens when you must rely on Death itself to survive? When Cole finds out his friend knows Death intimately, the survivors of a hiking trip gone wrong are tossed into a war between forces humans were never supposed to discover.
1. We All Exist As Pawns

_**The Tale of Radiance**_

_Death is not an abstract force of nature mortals can never hope to touch. His physical arrival will herald creatures of imagination and myth, some bearing fates worse than death and truths humans were never meant to handle. Cole Freedman didn't just discover the doomsday list and the truth of a hiking trip gone wrong, but that his friend knew Death on an intimate level. A series of supernatural incidents might just trigger a war among demons, a war able to be triggered by the smallest tip of the scale, and a fate that might be worse than dying- for humanity will fall. But hope still remains even when "black" and "white" no longer exist and all that is left is "grey". _

"_Death is a debt we all must pay._" (Euripides)

_**Chapter One:**_ _We All Exist As Pawns_

Spring promised a renewal of life, a rebirth of activity and the sun's all-consuming warmth. Gone were the bitter winds and lethargic existences that were characteristic of winter. That was not to say spring was all sunshine and pleasant, for the leftover chills stubbornly clung to the sweet fresh air, but Cole Freedman and his friends could have cared less. The endless snow had made them restless and ready to emerge from their houses in full energy. Reservations for the first hiking trip of the season had been booked for two weeks and not a soul wanted to miss the opportunity.

Especially not Cole, who'd grown up walking these mountain trails and loved them more than soccer. Unless he had a death wish, he always reassured his girlfriend Mary Fisher that he loved _her_ infinitely more, though he sometimes humored her by implying differently. When they were here on the dusty, rough path carved into the mountainside, he found it hard to do. To please her he pressed himself to pay enough attention to her gossip with their friends so that he could respond. They talked about inane, but fun, topics most of the time, so he had few qualms about participating.

Among the group of five, Sorin Vasile was the only one absent from the conversation. He was the new, albeit rare, transfer student in their sophomore class and came from Romania. When he first arrived they took his silence as a lack of understanding, but soon figured out that it wasn't the case. Mary was the one who pushed everyone to befriend him with surprising results Cole would never have predicted. The quiet boy loosened up, but never contributed much and settled for listening rather than talking. Pressing for anything personal was worse than pulling teeth.

Cole and his friends had not anticipated the difficulty they faced in learning about Sorin's past. Two months and a week later, Mary had pestered him enough to reveal that he and his older brother Andrei had lived in an orphanage for fourteen years. He had spent a year compensating for the schooling he hadn't been able to receive in Romania. Given that piece of information, Mary forgave his poor grades in an instant and toughened up on everyone else in return. Mary was not a nerd; she played lacrosse, but knew the importance of grades.

"Aren't you glad you came along? It's a nice day. For once," Cole said to Sorin, craning his neck and back so that he could catch a glimpse of the boy's downturned face. He detached himself from Mary to do so and fell into step with the transfer student, wishing that he hadn't bothered a moment later. Talking to Sorin was often incredibly awkward even for the friendliest of them. The only response he garnered was a slight tilt of the head and a small smile. When it seemed that getting any other response no matter the conversation was futile, Cole returned to Mary and their friends Tracey Reed and Clara Rush.

Tracey was in the middle of spinning another fantastic, absolutely ridiculous tale about aliens or something of the sort. The tall boy utilized dramatic hand gestures and various voices as he went. Much to Mary's exasperation and amusement, his girlfriend Clara Rush had joined him not long ago and added her personal input to the story.

"Uh-huh, I _completely _believe you," Mary muttered before she reached over and delivered a solid whack over Tracey's head. He exhaled an indignant huff and shuffled the order around so that Clara was next to Mary. Violent as she might be when he began to tell his strange stories of nonsense, she never raised a hand against Clara. Cole chuckled as Tracey declared the unfairness of it all, but Mary didn't turn violent against girls unless the circumstances called for it. Sometimes after lacrosse games she talked big, but never really followed through. Cole knew since he'd been dating her for two years already.

"Just go write kids' books so you can stop getting assaulted by my girlfriend," Cole said with a laugh as he slapped his friend over the back. Of course Mary wasn't very happy about that comment and tried to smack him, but he moved out of the way just in time to avoid the strike. Afterwards they all burst into unreasonable laughter that carried over the expanse of area above the thick forests surrounding the mountainside. In the distance a flock of native birds rose above the treetops, whether from their noise or some other insignificant change Cole was unsure.

Ahead the tour group consisted of couples and families, some annoyed with their disturbance and some ignoring it altogether. One little girl with twin brown braids and a wide, toothless smile trotted over to the teenagers and bubbly asked for another story. The friends broke into abrupt laughter again as Tracey gladly consented and rambled about how _some_ people appreciated imagination and his personality. As an afterthought he added Clara into that mixture and together they began another ridiculous tale only children could like. The little girl, Katrina, seemed happy to stroke their egos.

It was her mother, a woman named Maureen McLain, who thanked them for cheering her daughter up. School bullies had made her a grumpy and dour child for awhile. She'd scheduled the trip to raise her spirits and all she had received thus far were tongues and whining. Embarrassed that their friends' silliness had actually made a difference to someone's day, Cole chuckled and said that they were more than happy to oblige, in not so eloquent words of course. Cole didn't have the best command of English, but no one in his grade seemed to either.

The group continued along the winding, rocky trail until they reached a large alcove cut into the mountainside where the tour guides pulled them aside for a break. The slick, three-walled structure of stone and rugged rock was mostly of nature's design, but parts had been smoothed or expanded by people. The path expanded into the mountain then narrowed, continuing the trail on a steady incline. The ground here was dusty and scattered with tufts of grass growing through the cracks. During the summer there was usually more garbage here, even though there were trash cans around the area.

For the moment the large evergreen planted by the hiking company loomed over the empty ground, casting its shadow over at least half of it. Metal benches bolted to the rock below circled the thick trunk for the hikers' convenience so that they could take their lunch in the shade. Other benches outlined the first row, forming a circular pattern. Combined, there were enough seats to accommodate the largest groups the company offered. When the season truly settled in, there would be more staff members and more people traversing these trails daily. To Cole's knowledge, there were multiple paths leading to the peak.

Tracey and Clara's stories didn't cease even when everyone settled down for their short reenergizing meal. Some other children flocked to them when they caught snippets of the tale and within minutes all were entranced by whatever fanatical lines Tracey had made up. To Cole, the parents just seemed relieved to shove their burdens onto another, younger person. It was all in good fun though; the mothers and fathers relaxed while they watched their kids and enjoyed the short reprieve. Seeing that their two friends were more than occupied, Cole, Clara, and Sorin shuffled to another bench away from them. A few couples turned their noses up at the ruckus.

"What a wreck…I wouldn't have brought us out if I'd known there was going to be so many kids," a man muttered on the bench opposite them, his arm hung loosely over a woman's shoulder. Cole twitched in anger and turned towards Mary so he could fight the urge to, well, fight or otherwise pull something he might regret. Not every couple was as pessimistic, but there were enough unsatisfied faces and gestures to make his blood boil. Group expeditions were not the only ones the company offered; if they didn't want the noise they should have signed up for private trips. Those cost more, but Cole would have paid the fee for them to shake off the unpleasant vibes.

The backpack Mary assembled that morning held their lunches- simple sandwiches that tasted much better than they appeared. Cole always reminded her to work on the presentation, but tried not to criticize too often. As was typical of most teenage males, he had little sense in the kitchen and grew rather attached to Mary's cooking. Not that Mary herself was happy about the fact; she abhorred her ability, always muttering about sexism when someone brought the subject up, but never stopped cooking. Thanks to the two insistent, brats of little brothers she had, she couldn't drop it if she tried.

Both Sorin and Cole accepted the sandwiches gratefully and settled back to watch the dark green needles shift with the breeze. While Mary took the backpack to deliver her gifts to their friends, Cole again found himself in a conundrum. The silence was awkward between the two boys, for Cole at least; Sorin appeared unfazed. On the other hand, if he struck up a conversation the other boy was very likely to agree, smile, and return to his own little world. That often left the situation even _more_ awkward than before.

Then again, everything about the Romanian boy was beyond normal as far as Cole's standards went. Even on this hiking trip he had a thin book to occupy his time when everyone was ecstatic with the nature and freedom around them. When he was hungry, Mary noticed, he still took small bites and chewed and swallowed his food with almost deliberate slowness. There were many oddities about the boy such as that one, which everyone accepted as cultural differences. Question his habits and Sorin wasn't liable to respond anyways, so everyone made their own assumptions.

Whenever Sorin_ did_ speak, he sounded uncertain and hesitant, as if he'd never socialized in his life before transferring here. Clara was the most understanding about his inhibitions, having been incredibly shy when they were younger, before she met anyone else in the group. Despite the defense she constantly gave, Sorin never seemed too grateful- more like he would rather shrink away and forgot than confront anyone with nasty comments. That made the boy all the more endearing to the girls, he supposed. Tracey and he _tried_ not to act too jealous; Sorin always adopted this guilty expression when they did, but sometimes it was hard.

But what Cole found the most difficult about their newfound friend was that he couldn't maintain eye contact with him. Usually Cole had no qualms about staring people straight in the eyes when he was serious or wanted a message to be transmitted without words. When he'd tried that one afternoon he found himself unable to tear his sight away from Sorin's hazel eyes. The color wasn't impressive by any means, but they held some soulful, almost eternal solemnity that was impossible to ignore. Until Sorin broke that connection, Cole was helpless and afraid that somehow he'd trespassed on a particularly sensitive line.

They were intense, entrancing, and dangerous. Cole never made a repeat of the attempt and even physically shrugged the boy off before anything could happen. From then on he resolved to reserve the compliments and eye contact for Mary and his other friends. Until _that_ had happened, Cole planned on mentioning that Sorin had nice eyes, maybe not _pretty_ ones, but nice nonetheless. That afternoon he'd been quite a jerk- on account of the jealously acting up again- and had wanted to compensate for it.

Now he knew why Sorin always found the ground more interesting than people. After falling victim to whatever the attractive force was, he didn't blame him.

Inviting Sorin on the trip was another way for redemption, a far more harmless one than the previous attempt. Despite the fact that they were his only friends, Sorin never accompanied them anywhere that was outside their homes. The money was the issue, everyone knew, so they'd chipped in to pay for him this time. _That_ had touched something inside the stoic boy and he couldn't refuse thereafter. Sometimes Cole did see Clara's humanitarian point of view on these things, even though he hardly ever agreed with her.

Cole enjoyed sharing this mountain with people he knew anyways. Between him and Mary, this mountain had become something of a haven where they could escape when life spiraled away from their grasps. In the two years they'd been dating, he couldn't count the number of times they came here in the summer months. Sometimes those two years felt like ten years. Cole wasn't disillusioned though; he and Mary were probably going to break up one day and if that happened, at least they could claim that they'd been happy. That was more than others in his grade could say about their dates.

Many of those happy times were centered on the peak of this mountain, where tiny buildings and trees stretching for miles all around could be seen. The special sight was not something he wanted to horde and keep between the two of them. While most people from their city could say that they had visited the mountain at least once, it was a shame that so few ever returned. He doubted Sorin had ever seen such sights before and insisted that he come even more than Mary. The boy's face remained emotionless as far as Cole dared to look, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was displeased.

Lunch breaks were a little over half an hour long, ample time for a quick nap in the shade. The previous night had been restless with anxiety and anticipation, a poor combination for sleep. Mary had fallen asleep on his shoulder already, her light brown hair in soft curls falling down his chest. Cole shifted into the most comfortable position possible without disturbing her and rubbed his temples in sudden exhaustion as he closed his eyes. The adrenaline had tapered out temporarily, allowing his muscles to relax and surrender to fatigue.

Intruding hands on his shoulders jolted Cole away from the misty haze of sleep, his limp head lolling about for a moment as he struggled to blink away the blurriness. When the lines cleared enough for him to recognize Tracey- though he shouldn't have expected anyone else- Cole shoved him off exclaiming, "What the hell, man?" He glared at his friend as he stood and made to punch him in the arm for the harsh interruption. Tracey sidestepped the blow and darted off towards the entrance to the alcove where everyone had regrouped. Slightly disoriented, Cole stumbled to follow. That had been a pleasant nap in any case, though he couldn't quite place the dream he'd had.

Sometime later the children began their usual incessant whining about sore feet and tired bodies since Tracey and Clara had taken a break from storytelling. Cole groaned when the ruckus started much to his girlfriend's amusement. Mary's two younger brothers had conditioned her to childcare and she was quite immune to whining now. He made sure to stay far away while she walked among the kids with calm optimism. Clara and Tracey were chatting with each other about some unknown topic. With no one unoccupied, he had little choice but to fall into step with Sorin, who seemed more immersed with the forest below than the new company.

Among the screeching from the bird population below and the children ahead, Cole heard another noise, a deep consuming rumble, much like the hum of heavy machinery or a big cat's purr amplified by a hundred. When it again resonated through his head Cole frowned and tried in vain to identify the source. Something deep within the mountain must be stirring; by the laws of science the sound had probably been transmitted through those valleys efficiently enough for him to hear. Whatever the source, he figured it was in the distance. After the brief reassurance, Cole made another attempt for conversation with Sorin. Surprisingly he managed to keep his attention long enough to discuss a school project.

"Okay, am I going crazy or is the mountain rumbling?" Cole finally said when the sounds had not disappeared after twenty minutes. He twisted his imitation Rolex watch around on his wrist, a nervous habit his mother always scolded him for. Though he admitted to being amazed with Sorin's apparent ability to hold a proper conversation for awhile, the noise had been plaguing him the entire time. Today was perfect in the weather category, so there probably wasn't a chance that it was thunder he heard in the distance.

"Nah, it's just your crazy head imagining things," Tracey said pointedly with the most serious face Cole had seen on him today. Chuckling, Cole shifted over until he could attempt a blow on his friend. No matter what anyone else said, he still heard those deep rumbles that almost sounded like thunder. The levels fluctuated but the sky remained bright with the occasional puffy cloud drifting by. The sun's warmth was stronger than it had been in months. Tracey rubbed the sore spot on his upper arm and grinned. "It's probably just so rocks or something really far away. Come on, aren't you the one who wanted to have fun today?"

He laughed half-heartedly and nodded in agreement, though his heart was not completely into it. As they neared the peak of the mountain, everyone began to pick up on the sounds and curiously tried to peer over the impossibly tall rocks. The guides' explanation was that the spring mating season had caused some animals to fight and the damage done to the area was the source. Most people didn't believe word of that crap, but without another explanation they accepted it.

"Don't worry; I'm sure it's nothing." Sorin's quiet voice behind Cole startled him. He swung around to face the Romanian boy, tripping as he went. A guilty shadow passed over his face as he mumbled an apology for scaring him. Usually he answered with "yes" and "no" instead of extended responses and rarely gave his input, so Cole hadn't expected the reassurance. To be truthful, there wasn't any strength behind his voice so Cole ended up just as anxious as before. Grateful anyways, he thanked the boy for his concern and faced forward again where the kids were becoming beyond annoying.

Irony was a concept in literature Cole never quite understood. Normal irony was fine, natural even, but when school broke it into categories he began to get confused. If asked about the situation at a later date, he wouldn't have known what to categorize it as- only that Sorin's reassurance was irony at its cruelest. The children's petulant whines as they yanked on clothes and stamped their feet gave him enough of a pounding headache, already filled to the brim with the incessant rumbling. The entire group was a massive, chaotic mess. Those types of things often spiraled out of control when they reached their climax.

Within minutes the deep thunder beyond the mountainside crackled and erupted into bone-shattering crashes. Deep fissures stabbed into the high walls of rock and stone; the ground shook with tremors. The sudden movement threw people off balance and sent them crashing painfully to the floor. Children cried and shouts rose into the sky. People were already starting to back warily down the mountain in the likeness of frightened, cautious animals. It was far too late.

Shards and chunks of rock tumbled from the heavens, gravity yanking them down onto the path below. The children screamed in terror first; everyone was quick to join them. Cole hadn't noticed his own shouts until he had been rendered mute for the moment, throat dry and scratchy. His first conscious reaction was to rush to Mary and the clung to each other, uncertain and a pair of frightened children again. Whether from an understanding of the situation or because her throat was also dry, she didn't scream. Cole muttered reassuring words in her ear with a hoarse, panicky voice.

Dust clouds rose from the previously undisturbed ground, forcing tears to his eyes as they billowed into the sky. No one here actually needed the debris for an excuse for crying; there were only a select few who remained in relative control of their fear. Mary shuddered and choked back a sob in his embrace as Cole searched in desperation for some escape. There was none.

Leaping off the mountainside was suicidal. Anyone who made the attempt would fall to a painful death even if they struck a rocky outcropping before hitting the forest below. Cole drew Mary as close to the mountain wall as possible, aware that the rocks would fly over their heads by a good distance. The first few seconds of chaos had resulted in large rock piles that blocked their path to the peak. Sections of ground had fallen away in the opposite direction. No human could survive such a leap. They were well and trapped with no way out other than up to heaven.

Cole glanced at his hands, which were wrapped tightly around Mary's shoulders, and noticed that they were a quivering mess. The entire scene looked like a horror film gone wrong. The shower _had_ to stop before it struck someone a fatal wound. People were injured already, some limping and some bloodied but Cole didn't _think_ anyone was gone yet. In the chaos he couldn't even find his friends. A moment later he did spot Pearson, one of the two guides, close to the edge, directing a terrified and crazed mother with her child. The man was a veteran of these hikes, another woman a little ways ahead his protégé of sorts.

Had he glanced away a moment sooner he wouldn't have seen a large boulder tumble downwards towards Pearson, strike him, and continue its path off the edge. A sharp scream jolted from his throat at the contact that left the man's body shredded and broken, but alive. One good arm waved in furious strokes at the woman, but all of them were immobilized for one reason or another and the next boulder wiped all three from the cliff. What Cole hadn't realized was that they were hardly the first casualties; various forms were motionless on the ground as debris struck their bodies.

Dark red splattered the beige floor, seeping through the cracks and enough to make Cole have the urge to vomit. Mary started violently in his arms. Without asking or looking Cole had an idea of what she witnessed. His unblinking eyes watched as desperate people lunged themselves over the edge until their screams were drowned out by the roar. Others remained stationary, trapped by rocks and bleeding out in agony. Mary mumbled incoherently as she rocked back and forth, babbling until Cole could understand with growing horror.

"Oh god, oh god, C-Clara, t-that poor mother," she sobbed with a hitching voice Cole was powerless to comfort. Cole bit his lip until he tasted coppery blood, unable to believe that his friends were gone behind him within seconds. The entire scene had only been occurring for three minutes maximum, but this hell was equivalent to hours of torture. He started to choke on the airborne dust, on his own tears, and couldn't comprehend why this wouldn't stop. If something _had_ shattered the mountain then it had to stop eventually. Instead the shower continued and bodies dropped like flies, gore and fragments of people scattered about the scarred ground.

A teenage girl he recognized from school had a ruined leg. Splintered bone protruded from her flesh and her screams of agony were silenced when a shard struck a gash deep into her forehead. She collapsed as a man came stumbling over her body, heedless of the human beneath his shoes. Some couples further away were being buried alive under rocks, some trying to jump across the gash in the path. Cole didn't even want to see what had happened to the children after a frantic mother tossed them both off the edge.

The entire thing wasn't a dream. Pebbles bounced off his head, harmless, and his legs shook as if he'd run for miles. Eventually they both collapsed against the wall, shivering and crying and not completely in their minds. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die," Mary repeated like a chant. In some strange instinctual desperation she tore herself from his grasp, scratching his arms up until he had to release her. Before he had the chance to grab her again, Mary had darted to the blocked path and pushed against the boulders in vain. The sight tore apart his heart.

Cole struggled to his feet and ran after her, around splayed open bodies displaying organs and gore, and over and through them when he was unable to find another path. When he approached he realized that her pretty, tanned face and curled hair were splattered in blood. Bits of gore clung to the brown strands. Before he could reach her, more rocks blockaded the way. A sickening jolt spread through his belly and the vomit finally erupted from his throat. Hoarse and choking around the unpleasant acidic taste he screamed, "Mary, Mary, please come _over here, please_. Get away from there, Mary!"

He jumped in fright as a slab slid down the inclined mountainside towards her unsuspecting head. Her wide blue eyes caught sight of it a moment before she saw no more. Cole screamed enough for both of them, for the dying cries the earth had robbed her of and for his own hysterical grief. He backed away from the bloodied rock until his foot fell into a wet, mushy carcass. The blood was still warm as it seeped into his shoe. A little girl's soulless eyes gazed up at him, tear tracks still apparent.

At that vital moment he collapsed, and unable rise scrambled across the ground riddled with sharp pebbles in search of _someone, anyone_ with blood pumping through their veins and in need of oxygen. The stragglers disappeared from sight until one was left and Cole screamed his name until he was certain not even a mouse could hear him anymore. "Sorin, Sorin," he gasped in desperation, choking on fear and blood that ran down his head. He didn't remember any physical pain inflicted on his person.

The dark haired boy swung around when beckoned and locked eyes with him. It was funny that despite the horrific and deadly scene about them, he remained mesmerized by that gaze. As the boy approached in distress Cole realized that there was something terribly wrong with him. Now that he had contact he saw that his hazel eyes were deep and calming, almost amber in color, not hysterical or brimming with tears. Cole lost sight of him as the boy collapsed and drew his friend close against him. He smelled of strange scents that were distinctly masculine but pleasant.

"W-why aren't you upset, Sorin? Cry, scream, _do something_ for god's sake everyone's dead!" Cole screeched into his ear, using the last of his strength to hit his friend and shake his shoulders. Sorin remained as lifeless as a rag doll, not even flinching when Cole slapped him. "_Don't stare at me like that!_"

"Don't worry, it's okay, it'll be okay," Sorin whispered as he struggled to take them to their feet, only for the tremors to knock them into a position that might have horrified Cole under normal circumstances. Now he just clung to the boy and buried his head against his neck. He was so warm, much warmer than everyone else. Beneath him his friend rubbed smooth circles into his back comfortingly, calm and accepting of their fate. "_Îmi pare rău, la revedere._"

"W-what was that?" Cole choked when he heard the gibberish, lifting his head as if he might understand if he looked into Sorin's eyes. He regretted the movement when a rock glanced off the side of his friend's head. Blood blossomed across the ground and his skull, warm and thick beneath Cole's fingers. The hazel depths of his eyes were calm as the pain and life faded. Cole clutched at him with a broken keening, refusing to let go as he felt the boy's hands slip from his back. "No, no, no, please no."

Warmth that felt like a mother's loving embrace engulfed him, smelling of the spring's sweet breeze that had yet to arrive. As the thunder faded he heard his mother's soothing voice remind him that he had nothing to fear. A sudden hurricane of flames burst forth, Sorin's body the source. The fire felt warm and protective, nothing like when he'd burnt his hand on the stove. The flames were blue, which should have made them much hotter than a normal red flame, but Cole relaxed into the painless depths.

The last thing he saw was a large white and blue bird flutter into the air. Gracious streamline curves gave it an air of elegance, blue flames clinging to it as it turned towards the heavens. Though he was unaware, the crumbling had almost stopped. One lone rock tumbled down, but he only had ears the for bird's ear-splitting screech. It sounded like bitter sorrow as its great wings beat above.

The screams of his friends echoed in his ears. Sorin's final words, which he knew were somehow meaningful, echoed in his heart. He desperately wanted to know what they meant, why he had been so calm in the fact of death. The pain was dulled by the fire, but it throbbed as the rock crushed his ribcage. Would the rescue team find him pinned and embracing his friend? He might have found that mortifying if it weren't so grim. He tasted blood already and choked on it as the liquid filled his lungs.

When was the last time he kissed Mary? This trip had been a way to mend the argument they had this past week as much as it had been to expose Sorin to the world and compensate for his attitude. Speaking of Sorin, maybe that bird was his spirit. Maybe he was special and deserved one. The last thing he smelled was blood and flowers. The scent had been there all along, but now it gathered in his mouth and poured out his nose; it was on his head and Sorin's. His hands were smeared dark crimson and stained the dust and pebbles.

Whoever said dying was a peaceful release needed to actually experience it themselves. Sure, Cole found some relief in knowing that the pain would soon fade, but it _hurt_ worse than anything he'd ever felt. It wasn't just physical pain either- but the wretched emotional tsunami that depressed his entire system. Knowing that there was an end was peaceful.

Cole's eyes flickered open to the sight of Tracey's intrusive face and the odd rays of light that struck white blurs into his vision. He was about to shout at him for disturbing his sleep so violently and abruptly when a sickening wave of déjà vu washed through his body from head to toe. His hands gripped the bench until his knuckles turned white as he tried to grasp what his dream had been about before it disappeared. The anger that urged him to punch Tracey was suddenly frightening. Without extra help, Tracey darted away towards the hiking group.

In short, he tried to rationalize, everyone was healthy and alive. That accident on the cliff hadn't occurred. At least, he reasoned, it hadn't happened _yet_. Whether or not that was real he wasn't sure. The mountain was stable; it had always been stable. His friends called for him and he reluctantly rejoined them. Even as he broke into a smile, his heart pounded deep in his chest. The pain had been too vivid to stay a dream. But the idea of warning everyone made his stomach lurch in a different way. No one believed Tracey's fantastic tales. Cole's story was no different, just _deadly._

If everyone took his warning as crazy ramblings, then all these innocent people would die while he could have intervened. His eyes passed over the children who hadn't started whining yet. They didn't deserve to die. No one here deserved that. His mind decided and firm on his decision, Cole held his arms out and prevented his friends from advancing any further. He inhaled a couple deep gulps of fresh air.

"We can't keep going, I know you'll think I'm crazy, but we _can't go_," he blurted, his voice rising and falling with his distress. Mary gave him a questioning stare and Clara made a joke about how he finally saw their side to things. Cole shook his head, understanding that he sounded shaky and unconfident. He wouldn't believe himself either. But it didn't matter _how_ he convinced them, only that he get at least his friends _off this trail_. "Look, I had this dream- Tracey, this isn't some stupid joke- and we all died in it. It wasn't just a dream; it was too real. I'm not being paranoid. You know I've practically grown up on these mountains. I'd never be afraid to go on without a reason!"

"Cole, is that true?" Mary asked, almost scared to speak too boldly. Some of the children were still around her legs, oblivious, and Sorin was standing awkwardly behind her. He looked perturbed, an emotion Cole had never seen across his face even in his dream among the dying, gory chaos. He didn't dare make eye contact, too afraid that he would see him dying in his arms again, afraid that the blood would return. He was terrified of those overwhelming emotions and senses that went haywire before he died. He was certain that Sorin had the power to force those feelings to the surface.

"It's true, I swear it, and I'm not lying." Cole flinched when he heard his voice again. The nerves hadn't fled and he probably sounded somewhat insane. No matter how hard he wanted his voice to even out, it fluctuated with his fear. Mary placed a comforting hand on his shoulder but gave no indication that she believed him. Tracey seemed torn between making a silly jibe and actually listening to him. What really struck him was Clara and Sorin's uncertain, haunted stances. "Trust me, please, I wouldn't lie about this."

"No…I think you're right. I don't think you're lying. Sorin had a weird dream about that, too. He just told me," Clara muttered, glancing at the Romanian boy before she returned to Tracey's side. Cole wondered why Sorin chose her to confide in; he was never particularly close to any of them. Clara shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she sent the children away and motioned for Sorin to explain. Mary's confidence was wavering, but she offered a few consolatory words and urged him to speak.

Sorin hated the spotlight and refused to look anyone in the eye, for which Cole was grateful. "It's just the same as Cole's, probably," he said in a quiet voice. Beneath the strands of his hair Cole saw his eyes flit back and forth in search of something. Cole was sure that the nausea he felt was the same for Sorin. Cole stepped forward, maybe to comfort him, but the other boy advanced up the trail to avoid him as if he were diseased. The group hadn't waited for them of course, so they were lagging behind while the guide shouted for them to pick up the pace.

The Romanian boy shook his head guiltily. His pale cheeks were flustered as he backed away, hair swinging as he shook his head. "I'm sure it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry for worrying you; it's just an irrational nightmare. I've had plenty of them before, it's fine."

"You have nightmares? Why didn't you tell us?" Mary said in a suddenly concerned and fretful voice. Cole had been on the receiving end of it more than once and felt something akin to pity for the boy. Especially when he came away from soccer games injured, Mary and his mother felt the need to mother him. Sometimes it was annoying. Other times it was endearing. She tried to move towards him too, but he flinched away as if afraid of her touch.

Sorin's past was an undeniably dark mystery. What very little he revealed was horrible enough, but the demons in his closet were his secrets to keep. Pressuring for details would only make the already withdrawn boy quieter. Few bothered him about the undoubtedly painful memories, everyone certain that they didn't want to know what their peer had experienced. Without acknowledging that, they could remain somewhat innocent from the horrors the world offered. Sorin did not seem inclined to share his personal life with anyone.

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is that we're all going to die!" Cole's stomach sank as he realized that no sane person would listen to a bunch of teenagers, two of which spun imaginary stories and another plagued with constant nightmares. The others definitely heard the commotion, but made little movement to indicate that they cared. One guide, Pearson, sauntered over with wiry legs and darkly tanned skin. Cole recognized him, not from the dream, but from many years spent traversing these mountains. He was a hard-skinned man with zero tolerance for mischief, who liked to retain total control over the situation.

"The cliff will collapse and we're going to have no way out," Cole said hurriedly before the man arrived and put a stop to his ramblings. Ahead the group paused, some glancing at them with anxiety written on their faces. That was a good sign. Panic wasn't the proper way to conduct an emergency evacuation on a treacherous cliff side, but time was short. They were already very far along the trail and the climb down took time and energy they didn't have. "I know it's solid, trust me I know, but something made it break! We'll start hearing things, but it'll be too late!"

"Hey, until we hear something let's just continue, okay?" Tracey offered with a weak smile, disbelief and wariness written across his face. Mary appeared skeptical and Clara either scared into believing him or fully convinced he spoke the truth. Sorin was too afraid to admit that he'd seen more than a dream. Cole was sure they had dreamt the future. These premonitions happened sometimes throughout history. People _could_ tell the future to some extent. He'd never bought into those tales until now.

He nodded and swallowed the thick lump trapped deep inside his throat. Though reluctant, his compliance made Pearson back away to continue the journey. Sick dread pooled in his stomach and he refused to think too hard on what might happen should they escape too late. When he heard the first rumble he was going to hightail it out of here, ready to drag his friends with him. Cole wanted to save people, but he wasn't prepared to become a martyr. He wouldn't pressure whoever refused to come.

Everything about the trail was identical to his dream right down to the birdcalls and patterns the animals flew in. Cole was the only anomaly. This time he wasn't blissfully ignorant, but armed and anticipating. Every step hammered needles into his skin. When the children started to complain he knew the time was close and refused to move another inch. The group had remained in anxiety since his outburst, some people irritated and others on the bridge of belief. The couple from before threw them the finger, heedless of the kids around them. The inconsideration made Mary scowl.

"You're freaking insane. There's no sound. The cliff isn't collapsing. You're making everyone worried for no reason! It's _annoying_," the man snarled. Cole bristled at the insult. This guy didn't seem too irritated that the peace had been disturbed. He probably grew angry when things didn't turn in his favor. The girl around his arm was a pretty blonde with a rather nasty glare.

"Fine, you know what, you don't have to believe me! Just don't blame me when you're dying! What do you know about these mountains? Something's _wrong_," Cole nearly spat. Unable to restrain himself though his legs screamed to flee, he stomped up to the taller man and gave him a vicious shrug before he could knock his arms away. The girl looked offended and made a sound of discontent. The man on the other hand was furious and made to strike Cole, except Pearson decided to conveniently intervene. The guide's thin but incredibly strong arms pushed the two apart before a conflict could break out.

"Alright all of you cut it out. You think the cliff's collapsing? Then get off and let everyone else enjoy the trip. For fighting, I'm accompanying _both_ of you down personally," Pearson said in the type of voice the commanded obedience. Before anyone protested, he was busy herding them down the path while the other guide continued the trip. Cole spun around as he walked, finding that his friends and two mothers with their children followed. The rest muttered incoherent insults and resumed the laughter present before the lunch break.

Cole's stride evened out as they walked among his friends again. They remained silent, not wanting to trigger another outburst from him, he realized. In this state they knew that he would take the bait. The heightening birdcalls alarmed him enough. When he began to hear rumbles he wasn't sure if it was his imagination conjuring the familiar sound or reality. He quietly asked Mary about them but she shook her head each time and smiled reassuringly. Even the sweet twist of her lips was unable to calm his nerves.

Sometime after they'd passed the alcove with the evergreen and circle designed benches a stronger rumble shook the mountain. Small pieces of rock and dirt tumbled down the walls. No one could deny them anymore and it frightened them. Clara squeaked and clung to Tracey until he winced in pain. One mother, Maureen, hefted her daughter into her arms securely and held her tight. The exhausted little girl was oblivious to the distress in her mother. A ten year old girl and her mother seemed ready to sprint down the trail. Cole would be in huge trouble if he were wrong and caused this commotion for nothing, but he was absolutely certain that he was right.

Twenty minutes later the fatigue was apparent in everyone's stances and silence. A sudden reserve of renewed vigor coursed through their veins when the shattering impact of rock grinding against rock resonated across the forest. The local bird population screeched and fled into the skies at once, their rhythmic songs dying on the wind. Startled and sick with the truth, the group swung their faces to the sky where billows of dust rose near the peak. The rumbling sent small tremors through the mountainside; the movement caused the kids to cry in distress.

Half a minute after they realized that Cole's warning had come true, the group sprinted down the trail as fast as they dared. The rocky ground made for hard running, but they were desperate and frightened animals. The panic choked everyone into silence and adrenaline pumped through their bodies. Even Cole didn't have the state of mind to say "I told you so" as he normally might have done. He grasped Mary's hand and sucked in more air than his lungs needed to run. Even that didn't seem enough to keep his lungs alive.

As they fled they stayed close to the wall, aware that any flying debris would fall along the edge. The possibility that they could slip and tumble off was fresh in their minds as well. For the moment they saw nothing, but the trail looped around the mountain and sooner or later they should be below the disaster. They must have arrived at this section when rocks and boulders descended before their eyes, but no one was willing to keep their sight locked there for too long. They were inherently afraid that they might see bodies accompany them. The children had long started wailing, making the adults and teenagers wish they could do the same. But they had to maintain a semblance of composure.

By some stroke from Lady Luck, the group managed to stumble away from the path before any large boulders struck them. One hit was enough to end all of their lives. Miraculously, they arrived shaken but unharmed. Pearson immediately led them to the headquarters where a bustle of staff was hurrying about with chaotic news of the collapse. From what Cole heard, they were trying to contact rescue teams and ascertain if there were survivors. Already hordes of relatives, friends and curious onlookers were horded outside the station. They demanded the state of affairs in such a high volume Cole heard them from inside.

Sensing that they weren't needed, everyone else slipped outside to find their relatives. Cole spotted his parents and his friends' parents, hysterical and in even more tears when they saw their children. While being smothered by his mother's strong arms, Cole noticed that Sorin lurked off to the side. He was shaken no doubt, but his brother didn't seem to be present. Before he could do something for his friend, his mother was babbling away and demanding his attention. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he repeated shakily into her clothes. Tears welled in his eyes when he finally realized that he was _alive_. He had escaped that painful death because of some divine intervention.

He returned her embrace, all limbs weak and numb. They weighed a ton. Then the tears dribbled down his face and he was unsettlingly hot and choked up. Somewhere in the background others were asking frantic questions. What happened? Was anyone else alright? Everyone skirted around the word _death_, as if it might invite the devil himself. No one else seemed inclined to answer. He doubted that anyone had heard them except for Sorin. Someone had to be the deliverer of bad, tragic news. Lifting his head to stare at his mother, almost the same height as her now, Cole opened his mouth to say something.

He didn't understand why it was _him_ who had to hand out the bad news every time, but took a deep and trembling breath. "They're gone, mom. They're all gone. All those people are dead. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-" Cole paused and pretended as if he were too upset to continue. Everyone might grow to despise him if he apologized for not saving them. If people knew that he had known about it they might become suspicious. Even if it were on uneven grounds, grief could take their fury and hurt very far. The accusations would not be nice.

So Cole withheld his dream and shared a private look between his friends. The other people could tell if they wanted, but he decided to stay as far away from media coverage as possible.

"_I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay._" (Bob Dylan)

* * *

• Repost and edit of the original chapter of _The Tale of Radiance_ with updated writing, less stiff dialogue (I hope) and a higher word count by some mysterious force. Some changes: Description of Sorin is not all bunched up at the beginning. Sorin is not awkward (anymore than he normally is). Adrian and Cameron were taken out and replaced with the currently nameless couple. Two new survivors were added, another mother-child set. Cole actually remembers Sorin at the end. No awkward text describing him dying. He doesn't guess the bird's a phoenix because he's _dying _and not really focused. Better death scenes (I can only get so creative with deaths from rocks that are plausible). Less awkward summary, chapters have better titles. All in all, much happier.

• "_Îmi pare rău, la revedere_" still means "I'm sorry, good-bye" in Romanian, from an online source. Might not be reliable.

• Again, this story is very different from other _Final Destination _stories. Two people with premonitions, more character, Death as a character, more action before dying, a very complicated plot. I didn't want to give up on this yet, I realized. Many things will remain the same, but some things will change. My writing's less painful to read, at any rate. Please give feedback!


	2. Bitter Tears

_**The Tale of Radiance**_

_**Chapter Two: **_"_The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone._" (Harriet Beecher Stowe)

The day of the mass funeral was much too bright, much too radiant, for such a depressing event to take place. Suitably, it should have been raining and grey clouds should have swathed the sky, black as death and black as the mourning robes everyone wore. When Cole arrived with his parents, it was midday, the sun at its brightest and the local birds humming away in the nearby park. Not a cloud hung in the sky, a mocking message from fate, destiny, heaven, God, or whatever else one would like to name it. Cole never had a preference for religion but if God did exist, he would turn his back on Him now while everyone else was praying.

Cole didn't just see a horrible accident as everyone else did, because he couldn't make heads or tails of his premonition. By some twist of fate or destiny or whatever, obviously some greater power wanted him to escape or else he wouldn't have received the premonition in the first place. Unable to save them all and leaving behind guilt and hate, Cole wondered just what the world planned, what it wanted out of the little humans running around without their heads. The funeral was the first calm event since the incident. Since then the media had been questioning everyone nonstop and Cole couldn't leave his house, not that he wanted to anyways.

A stroke of luck found him when he realized that while few details and few interviews had been made, no one had told the press about the boy who'd saved them. It seemed to pass as undeniable that a gut instinct forced the group to leave and escape what would have been an untimely death. The news never stopped saying so, never stopped saying how horrific the event had been. The news crew hovered outside the doors of everyone involved, even Adrian Earlson and Cameron Lynn, who Cole figured out wasn't Adrian's brother after all. In the first week no one dared to question the foreigners, until the media ran out of survivors to interview and expel new information.

Though Cole had been interested in what was happening to everyone he couldn't call on the phone, his parents seemed to believe it was best for his mental health that he don't watch the news channel. Sometimes he would sneak a peek on his computer when no one was looking and erase the history. When he could muster the courage to talk about the incident with his friends he asked them about it. By that method he found out most of what he knew today about the current situation, which wasn't much. If he hadn't asked he wouldn't have convinced his parents into going to this funeral, claiming that it'd 'help him move on' or something of the sorts.

Cole had another gut feeling, completely different from before, that said the funeral wasn't the end of everything, that his life wouldn't return to normal just yet. As it stood he was taking his classes by correspondence and almost failing, too distracted with frenzied thoughts the entire day to pay attention. Whenever he spoke to his friends they talked about stupid, random stuff, like which sports teams they were rooting for or which celebrity got divorced next. They strayed from the mere mention of the incident for the most part, save for the occasional discussion. Cole hadn't even heard from Sorin since that day. He wasn't answering his phone and the news crew only got to him once before his brother had made a few violent threats to them.

When Cole had entered the fenced area where the funeral was to take place he instantly spotted the familiar figures of his friends and left his parents to greet them. The pleasantries were soft, evasive, and meaningless. Everyone smiled at each other weakly and looked as if they hadn't slept much in the two weeks since they last saw each other. Cole gently talked to Mary, who had a sad expression on her face that seemed to worry her mother and father, who were seated a little ways off, speaking with Cole's parents. Clara was almost sickly and didn't talk much, content to stay by Tracey's side, holding his hand but doing nothing other than that.

"Hello," said Sorin, from behind Cole. He'd just arrived, apparently, with his older brother Andrei. Cole had never met Andrei before, as the two brothers were secretive and loners, much preferring to keep to themselves than take other human company. Andrei had the same dark hair and calm blue eyes as Sorin, though he stood tall and protective, unafraid to stare people in the eyes with his piercing gaze. Cole knew to avoid that contact when he first saw him besides Sorin, who appeared no different than he normally did, surprisingly.

"Hello, this is your brother, Andrei?" Cole said softly. Sorin nodded once and left his brother's side to sit by his friends. Andrei at least understood that they wanted to talk alone and left the vicinity to sit by himself and stare at the cluster of flowers in his hands. Everyone had a bouquet, even the few children who had come with their parents. Andrei fiddled with a few petals of the red rhododendron flowers he held, Sorin doing the same with the purplish ones he had brought. Cole didn't recognize the flower, then again he wasn't into that sort of thing and if it weren't for the store clerk, he wouldn't know that he was holding marigold either.

"Have you been alright?" Mary asked Sorin gently. He reluctantly nodded, though everyone all knew it was a blatant lie. They were all lying through their teeth, refusing to allow the severity of the situation set into their innermost thoughts and actions. Their conscious's refused to admit that they couldn't handle their emotions. The nightmares Cole knew for a fact was plaguing not only Sorin now was enough to deal with subconsciously. Sometimes he would have them during the daylight hours, too. Sometimes he would see a flash of something familiar out of the corner of his eye or a scent that choked him into tears.

"None of us are alright," Cole said quietly, licking his chapped lips and refusing to meet Mary's stare. Denial was a weird thing, he thought. It was almost as bad as the nightmares. "We're just here for the funeral so that we can try and convince ourselves that we're alright, that we're not going to go insane. We want to know if we can move on, if it's all right we just forget about it all. We want, no, _need_ to know that people won't hate us if we forget for our own sakes. That's why I think we're here. It's not completely for mourning; it's more selfish than that."

"You speak very wisely for being so young," said a deep, accented voice from behind Cole. At first Cole thought it was Adrian and Cameron before he recognized the tone, similar to Sorin's strange accent, in a voice used to speaking Romanian. He turned and confirmed the identity of the person, Andrei, who stood behind him, holding the bouquet of rhododendrons and a box of candy. Up close, Cole saw that Andrei's bouquet had strange white feathers mixed into the rhododendrons, as if they were filler flowers. Upon realizing where Cole's attention was focused, Andrei plucked a flower and feather from the bouquet and handed it to him, all without a smile on his face. "They are pretty, no?"

"Uh, yeah, they're pretty…" Cole muttered, thinking more along the lines of it being strange that feathers were in the mix instead of more flowers. He had a feeling that Andrei did not completely mean to ask him if he thought the flowers were pretty, too. Cole couldn't really find a flower ugly, even if he wasn't an expert on them. He tucked the flower and feather into the front pocket of the suit his mother made him wear, saying he had to look good if he insisted on going to the funeral. The red contrasted with the black fabric and Cole knew that he'd receive an earful from his mother later. At least he could tell her that it was a gift.

"Andrei, don't be so weird to my friends. Why are you over here, anyways?" Sorin said, meeting his brother's gaze. The act surprised Cole, who really thought that Sorin always avoided peoples' stares. Since he saw them together, Cole knew that Sorin was attached to his brother, that Sorin was actually better friends with his brother than everyone else was. He thought that without a doubt, it had something to do with their past in Romania that Sorin refused to talk about. Whatever had happened overseas brought the siblings closer than normal siblings got with each other, which wasn't saying much because most people Cole knew hated their siblings anyways.

Though Cole could tell Sorin and his brother were close he couldn't tell why Sorin wanted him to leave them alone. If Sorin really didn't hate his brother like normal siblings Cole knew, he couldn't guess. It wasn't as if their group was in some deep discussion. They'd just been making random comments the entire time. Sure, the flower thing was a little weird, but Cole passed off on the fact that the brothers were from Romania and acted strange sometimes because they were foreigners. Maybe he'd misinterpreted Cole's staring to be that he wanted one instead of just wondering what feathers were doing in the bouquet.

"I thought that you would like to know that your _other_ friend is here, too. He's been waiting patiently, letting you catch up with your classmates before he came. You're lucky he even came here at all, you know how sick he's been." Andrei had a pointed voice, as if gently scolding Sorin for potentially being rude to his '_other'_ friend. Sorin actually seemed confused for a moment, as if he didn't remember _having_ another friend. Cole was surprised again, not being able to fathom Sorin as the sort of person who forgot such important things. Sorin only seemed to remember when Andrei moved aside and gently pulled a slightly shorter, much meeker looking boy forward by his arm.

"_Oh,_ _I'm so sorry, Paris!_" Sorin exclaimed, astonished and ashamed with himself, his hands clasped over his mouth momentarily. He moved quickly to stand and run over to the boy, blinking furiously and seeming very upset with himself. Cole shared a confused look with Mary and figured that Sorin really _had_ forgotten about his friend, however unlikely that seemed. The boy, who Sorin had called _Paris_, smiled weakly and while he didn't look offended, wore a hurt expression on his face. He had hazel eyes, Cole just barely noticed from the angle he was sitting at, hazel eyes that looked very hurt and emotional.

Sorin hesitated for a moment before embracing the surprisingly thinner boy. Cole didn't think there could be many people skinnier than Sorin and Mary had always reminded him about it. Paris's black clothes were loose and the sleeves hung over incredibly thin wrists that timidly wrapped themselves around Sorin's body. The sickly boy seemed surprised and pleased that his friend had remembered him and actually hugged him in order to make up for it, too. He gently laid his head on Sorin's shoulder, shy and shaky, though Cole could see a faint smile on his lips.

He wondered how closely the two were for Sorin not to remember his friend and for them to hug so intimately. Perhaps Sorin had known Paris in Romania, however unlikely that possibility was. Paris wasn't much of a Romanian name, as far as Cole could tell from having studied the _Odyssey_ and other Greek epics just last year. Even if the name was excusable, Sorin and Andrei seemed to have completely rid themselves of their pasts, refusing to even speak in Romanian as far as Cole knew. Sorin had mentioned once that he wanted to throw away everything and move on, forget his past, because it was unchangeable. The nightmares had not left him and apparently, Paris hadn't either.

"W-what are you doing here, Paris? Last time- I thought I'd never see you again. How did you- I'm sorry, I shouldn't be asking this now," Sorin stammered. It was the first time Cole had ever heard him speak in such broken sentences. Usually Sorin took care to speak correctly and at that, he hardly spoke at all. Everyone but Andrei and Paris was completely confused. Andrei was the only one calm person in the entire area, whether everyone else was mourning or confused about Sorin's friend's seemingly random appearance. Paris appeared scared with the information he knew, Cole thought. Sorin had pulled away from the boy slightly and unsuccessfully tried to catch his gaze. Suddenly Cole realized that Paris was trembling and it seemed that his frail form wouldn't hold. Sorin realized it too, and hastily pushed Paris to the row of metal chairs. "Sit down."

Cole and his friends inched towards the wraith of a boy as Sorin sat beside him and gently coaxed the tremors to stop. Cole could tell he was anxious to question Paris as to his reason for being there, but knew his friend wouldn't take to it well and restrained himself from blurting something he might regret. Cole wanted to know too. Curiosity had always been a curse of anything that lived. Paris didn't seem to notice the anxious, expectant stares everyone was giving him, even Sorin. He fiddled with the pink flowers of his bouquet and nibbled on his bottom lip, looking at Sorin, and only Sorin, helplessly, almost guiltily. He was afraid to tell him the truth. Cole knew that face from watching movies and watching Mary's brothers, though there was _something_ about Paris he couldn't exactly pinpoint, like with Sorin and his eyes and voice.

"Paris, what's-" Sorin was interrupted by the sudden movement of the crowd and the priest's stance at the altars, his hand signals for silence. Cole couldn't exactly explain how Sorin looked at that moment. Sorin acted as if his questions were mandatory, dreadfully important. He was reluctant to face forward and leave Paris alone, but Sorin was torn between the absolute _need_ to know what had happened and obedience, respect for the dead. As the priest started reading from the Bible Sorin let the matter drop for the time being and restlessly listened to words Cole had a feeling he wasn't paying any attention to in his state.

"_The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living…_"

Noon made the procession move slower than it should have. It was more excruciating and painful to watch the families grieve over empty caskets than if it had been sunset or cloudy in the skyline. Flowers toppled onto the ground, all sorts of colors melded together, losing their identities and meanings in the crowd. The rows of metal chairs had been filled to the brim and a few people hovered around the edges, everyone holding a bouquet or a few flowers whether they be young or old. The deaths of so many people had brought the community together, severing differences and creating a single pain to which all could relate.

Cole and his friends had sat in the back row and were among the final people to rise and mumble their condolences. The marigolds Cole held, once so bright, disappeared as soon as he laid them on top of a cluster of lilacs. He didn't know what he said to the dead, if spirits existed, except that he apologized in the mumbled tone he used. It might have been their own faults that they didn't believe him, but he couldn't really blame them now. He thought that he might blame them later, if anyone accused him of not helping enough, but for now he held no grudge. A funeral was not the place for grudges.

The funeral was not finished and most found it respectful to mill about for a little while, in no hurry to run off somewhere and forget the day too easily. It was past midday now, by an hour or two, Cole figured, and a few people were still trickling into the area. The sky still hadn't changed. The mood was still solemn. The worst off mourners were the family of the dead who wailed and cried without stop, perhaps cursing the fine day as well as the incident. Clara wasn't much better than them, withdrawn and sniffling beside Tracey. She'd lost a little cousin, Cole knew from a phone conversation with Mary, but she had been so upset at the time she hadn't stopped to drag her along with them.

Clara twirled a yellow flower she'd saved from her bouquet in her hands, occasionally dropping it on her lap and absently picking it up again. Tracey was worried for her but he couldn't talk to her without sounding stupid trying to cheer her up, so Mary switched seats and murmured in her ear. Clara started to cry and Tracey almost leapt from his seat but for Mary's stern glare that told him to stay put. Cole had seen her use it on her brothers and he figured that when they stopped being scared of her, they would stop listening to her too.

Sorin seemed relieved that the formalities were over, but when he went to talk to Paris Andrei stopped him with an outstretched hand. Paris was no different from before and nodded in silent agreement with Andrei, an alliance Sorin couldn't defy. Cole really wanted to know about Paris too, but he figured that they wanted privacy to talk over the delicate subject. The mass gathering of people may have been distraught, but that could make rumors all the worse. Who knew what twists people could make when they were upset and grieving.

"Buttercups are for childishness, you know," Clara said, her voice rising a little so everyone could hear her. Mary wasn't the only one confused at her statement, but she seemed to know that Clara was talking about the yellow flower in her hand. "My cousin hated them. She hated the color yellow. She was childish though, and she loved every flower but the yellow ones. She said that yellow attracted bees and she hated bees because she had an allergic reaction to them when she was four. I asked her about all the flowers, I found out all the meanings, and she still hated these the most."

No one really know what to say to Clara's reflection and memories. She had stopped crying and instead stared emptily across the park, past the altar and past the horizon. Her eyes were plain brown, but they were glassy, almost as if she were in a trance or lost in thought. Mary talked to her softly, but Clara shook her head listlessly in response. She looked worse off than Paris, in a way. Cole nervously bit his lip when she turned to stare at him. She looked like she'd lost her soul- or her mind.

"Rhododendrons are poisonous. They tell you to be careful," she said, pointing at the red flower and feather in Cole's pocket. Cole almost frowned. Clara was never into fortunetelling and reading symbols. She always said that they were too unreliable, that they were just objects that didn't necessarily bring an omen. Clara was practical like that, at least she used to be before the incident. They all had some way to cope, he supposed. Cole had taken to writing poetry and violently tearing or throwing it away. He'd never been a person for the arts or literature, so he didn't know why his consciousness told him to write poems of all things when he couldn't get past the first line.

"Asters are for love and delicateness," Clara said, turning her head to Mary, who Cole had seen holding flowers that he thought were purple daisies. Cole didn't think that Clara was too accurate with her symbolism, if she meant that each person had chosen a certain type of flower based on their personality. From what Cole knew about his girlfriend of two years, Mary was not the most delicate person in the world. She was rather tough and could stand on her own, and she even played goalie in soccer, as a school sport, which as Cole had heard, wasn't the easiest job on the team.

"Care to speak of this bouquet?" called a calm, accented voice. He didn't need to swing his head to the side to know that the owner of that voice wasn't Andrei or Sorin. Even though Cole thought that he'd never see the foreigners again, at least not in person, Adrian Earlson and Cameron Lynn stood at the beginning of the row of chairs, late but obviously there for the funeral. Their black clothes probably cost more than Cole would make in a year at his part-time job. Adrian had a different cane than last time and an assortment of elegant clothing one would find being worn in the olden days of England. Cole didn't think people dressed that formally anymore, even for a funeral.

Adrian carefully picked his way through the aisle and held the fancy bouquet out for Clara to examine. Cole suspected that he'd brought it from an expensive florist, a commodity no one really had the money to spare to purchase. He also suspected that Adrian Earlson was a man- or boy- of alternative motives. He moved to confront the younger but was blocked by physically by Cameron and by Mary's steady gaze on him. She seemed convinced it would somehow help Clara, but she was too trusting sometimes when things got this serious.

"Begonias, that's what these yellow ones are, stand for fancifulness and they're also a warning. Roses are for love, of course, love and passion. White stands for purity, yellow for unfaithfulness," Clara listed, gently touching the different flowers as she mentioned them. She then pointed to the bouquet Cameron held, identical to Adrian's save for a cluster of different yellow flowers, flowers Cole could actually name. Cameron maintained a benign, knowing, calm smile. "Daffodils, for sunshine, respect, politeness and…unrequited love? I don't think that one applies to you, though…"

"Very good, miss," Cameron said, offering her a slight bow and another smile. Cole shivered whenever he caught a glimpse of it. Cameron had a strange, knowledgeable countenance, secretive in every way, releasing no notion as to his true nature and desires, as if he had none. Adrian ignored his companion's compliment and took the bouquet back from Clara, frowning, mostly directed towards Cameron. He plucked a white rose from the bunch and fondly touched the petals, the single act of softness Cole had ever seen him do. Cameron did not frown as Cole had anticipated, only smiled a different smile, and said, "My lord?"

" 'There's rue for you, and here's some for me,' you forgot the rue," Adrian said absently, as if the matter was not too important, which it wasn't, yet Cole had a feeling Adrian had mentioned it for a purpose. Whatever the young boy seemed to say was never coincidence or a slip of the lip. The slightly off lilt of Adrian's voice suggested that he was quoting from some text. As he spoke, Adrian daintily picked a few small sprigs of yellow filler flowers and held them out for Cole to take. His single eye burned with such intensity Cole had to accept the strange gift. He didn't know why he was receiving so many flowers today.

"Everyone has something they regret. Though you may forget its presence, regret never leaves until you have the strength to face it. That is why Cameron and your friend forgot the rue. Cameron does not have regret, however, so he simply ignored it," Adrian said with a strange wisdom a child his age should not wield. Cole couldn't understand that boy and his manners, how he could he docile and reflective one moment, and aggressive and resolute the next. Still passive, Adrian excused himself and went to the altar with Cameron following him, muttering a few words and placing the expensive bouquet on top of the others where it too disappeared among the sea of meanings and color. Adrian kept a single white rose as he came back, staring at the petals until he seemed to grow almost tired of it.

"My lord, do not think so poorly of yourself," Cameron said, placing a gloved hand over Adrian's hand when the boy had somehow found the flower offensive and crushed it. Petals scattered to the floor and the thorns pierced Adrian's skin so flecks of blood dotted the white. Mary had gasped when she saw it happen, perhaps a little concerned about the thorns, but everyone else was shocked, too. Before Adrian had been staring at the rose fondly and his mood had changed so suddenly no one could stand not to be surprised. Cole kept himself from frowning at the young boy's attitudes and to him, his unstable mind.

"Who are you to tell me what to think of myself?" Adrian replied coldly. He released the petals and shook the few that clung by blood off his hand as if they were a nuisance. He turned as sharply as he could with a cane in one hand without looking foolish and glared at Cameron, though the older man did not flinch as the teenagers behind him did. Even if he was a child, Adrian was fierce and frightening, if only because such expressions did not belong on a boy so young. "You are only my butler and my servant. You do not need to advise me. I have a few appointments today, don't I? Let us depart, Cameron."

As easily as that Cameron and Adrian dropped the subject and stalked away, without so much as a farewell. Left on a sour note, Cole and his friends decided that they didn't have to stay any longer, though their parents still milled about the area. With the distractions gone, they returned their attention to Sorin and Paris, who'd been quiet the entire time, reluctant to talk. Everyone wanted to know what was with the two, a matter they would not so easily drop as the other foreigners did. Cole prepared himself for some argument dealing with the fact that Sorin had friends who were concerned and he really should let them know some stuff about him so they could help him, but it didn't happen. Andrei had anticipated such a curiosity and persistence, and relented with his consciousness, inviting them all to stay the afternoon at the apartment he and his brother shared.

Naturally everyone accepted and they dispersed to inform their parents, most of whom were gossiping with or comforting friends. Cole's parents had a bit of an issue with him hanging out with so many of his friends who had been in the incident. He had his suspicions that his parents thought his friends would trigger some mental breakdown waiting to happen. He didn't tell them that he'd probably already _had_ that metal breakdown sometime on the mountain, but they wouldn't believe it unless they witnessed it firsthand so he didn't even try. They were only concerned about their only son, he knew, even though he found it slightly annoying.

"Mister and Misses Freedman? I'm Andrei Vasile, Sorin's brother, it's a pleasure to meet you," Andrei said politely, approaching from behind Cole, his head inclined slightly in greeting. Cole thought his parents looked a little wary of Andrei, though he'd addressed them with such good manners they couldn't help but respond in the same way. For having lived in a different country until a year or two ago Andrei spoke well, his grammar correct and word usage probably better than Cole's. Though he still had an accent, it wasn't difficult to understand him. That worked in his favor, because Cole's parents liked to complain about people who didn't speak properly. Cole scoffed, it wasn't as if they were English professors or anything, though his aunt taught high school English.

Cole had to admit Andrei did better than a good job convincing his parents that he wasn't going to have a mental breakdown if he left. Andrei convinced them into considering the fact that being around his friends, who'd shared the experience with him, might help more than harm him. The older boy had made a slight reference to his own life, a very vague statement that it'd certainly helped his brother, and Cole figured Andrei rarely lost an argument. If he really did decide to go to college, not the lie Sorin had told them, Cole had a feeling he'd be very successful and very good with debates, something his English class was horrible at doing.

"Thank you for your time, Mister and Misses Freedman," Andrei finished, waving lightly, a bright smile on his face as he led Cole to the entrance of the funeral service where his friends waited. They all were anxious to leave, except for Andrei who already knew the truth and Paris who didn't want to tell it. Andrei was quick to drop his cheerful smile, claiming shortly that these matters had no room for joy as he led them down the streets to the apartment he and Sorin shared. They didn't have a car, which was too expensive for Andrei's salary at a local market. When they entered the apartment, Cole figured that they only had enough money to pay the taxes, the rent, and buy food and occasionally, clothes.

The space was spotless, mostly because there were few things to clean. The kitchen Andrei entered was tiny and the appliances in well enough shape for being so outdated. He offered to make some refreshments and only ended up giving everyone water, every cup being either plastic or disposable. No one was really hungry after the funeral anyways, but Cole had a feeling that they felt bad, even though Andrei didn't seem bothered to offer as much hospitality as possible. He offered to find a few chairs or something Cole and his friends could sit on, because the loveseat could only squish so many of them together, though everyone ended up sitting on the floor.

While they were trying to make seating arrangements Sorin and Paris slipped into one of the two adjoining rooms, probably the bedroom, closing the door behind them. After a while Andrei noticed Cole's curiosity and made a carefree hand motion, his face still serious, though slightly more relaxed than on the trip here. "Sit down, Freedman, they'll be awhile. It's not polite to intrude on their privacy. Don't worry, Sorin will probably tell you about it later." Cole frowned and wanted to ask why they came if Sorin would only _probably_ tell them what was bothering him and his friend. Andrei had one of those looks he couldn't argue with though, so he let the subject drop and chatted with his friends, who'd also taken note of the strange situation.

While Cole and his friends spent the time catching up and talking like they normally would, they all picked up on the muffled speaking in the other room, sounds Andrei ignored as he read a book. Sorin and Paris spoke in Romanian, so they could barely pick up on which voice belonged to who. Sometimes the voices would grow hushed or loud, upset or confused. When a sharp pitch of alarm followed by rushed words Cole couldn't understand erupted from the room everyone started in alarm. Andrei only raised his head slightly and told them to calm down before he returned to his book. No one could really calm down, not when their friend was upset.

"He's very lucky to have friends like all of you," Andrei suddenly said, meeting their concerned stares. He absently toyed with a thin page of his book and put it down, folding his hands in his lap. "You are all very close. It's nice that way. In Romania no one becomes friends easily. It takes a lot of time to forge trust and a relationship. It's not like that here. Here, he doesn't have to only turn to me to hold his burden. He can share it with all of you as well, that's what's nice about America, besides the freedom, of course. Understand, he is very close to Paris, closer than he is with all of you, because of how we were raised in Romania. Don't become offended."

"Why would we be offended?" Mary asked quizzically, a question Cole would have liked to know the answer to as well. Andrei did not answer her, only picked his book up again and smiled mysteriously, almost to himself. The '_you'll_ _see_' implication could drive someone crazy and Cole frowned as they returned to their chatter, not really into the conversation anymore. Clara was a different story, because she had been trying to remember all the different flowers people had brought to the funeral and their meanings with minimal success. She only remembered what the people she knew had brought, even though she wanted to know the rest. Cole didn't see the importance of it.

"Well, I remember that little girl, her name was Katrina, the one whose mother decided to follow us, and she had a lot of little white flowers and bigger blue ones. Her mother had orange ones that looked like daisies," Tracey said, concentrating harder than Cole had ever seen him try on a test. He really wanted to make Clara feel better more than anyone else, to return to her normal self, even if it took remembering flowers with her. It wasn't that everyone else didn't want Clara to be fine again, but Tracey and Clara had known each other since they were six and they had a special bond.

"She had bluebells, for gratitude, humbleness, and fairies, in stories, childish things. I think she also had baby's breath, for innocence. They're popular filler flowers. The mother had calendulas, I think that's how it's pronounced…they're for grief." Clara seemed a little better than she was at the funeral, a little less spaced out and with more light in her eyes. Her boyfriend was elated and smiled widely, the problem with Sorin being forgotten momentarily by Clara's improvement. "Tracey, you had carnations, carnations are for fascination, joy, and devotion. Cole, you had marigolds and foxglove, I remember. Weird color combination. Foxglove isn't something I'd pick for a funeral either."

"Um…thanks?" Cole had just picked them randomly at the florists' because he knew Mary liked marigolds and he thought that the foxglove looked cool.

"Marigolds are…well, like gold. They're for passion and creativity," Clara continued, ignoring Cole. She smiled at Mary, knowing about the significance too. Tracey was oblivious, but Cole felt his face grow hot. "Now foxglove, that's youth, dignity. Poppies were just there for the service already. Everyone knows poppies and World War I. Now, I think I saw holly there too, which is for defense and happiness. Well, they're for making out during Christmas too. Sorin's friend, Paris, had cherry blossoms, for education. They come in a lot of different colors. Sorin had cyclamens, for resignation and good-byes."

"I can't believe you remembered all that-" Mary said, smiling. She was cut off by the sound of the door opening behind them and the footfalls of Sorin emerging, Paris behind him. There was something off about them, Cole thought, as Sorin weakly waved and came to sit by the couch, gently pulling Paris beside him. The frail boy looked almost guilty for having told Sorin whatever it was they were hiding. Sorin was troubled and Cole had never seen him that troubled before. He was suddenly a lot older than his sixteen years. That wasn't the only thing off about them. Cole noticed that Paris had rested against Sorin, as if he were physically exhausted on top of being emotionally exhausted. Sorin had his arms around his friend and their faces were flustered. They couldn't have been arguing, because no one had heard anything from the room. They had been quite for a while, so Cole wondered what was with them.

"Is everything alright?" Cole finally asked after a few moments. Sorin was silent for a time, as if he hadn't heard Cole and was only interested in staring at the top of Paris's head. When he did respond, he lifted his head and stared Cole right in the eyes. Cole hated that feeling of helplessness, unable to pull away from his eyes. They were different from the other times he'd seen them, though. He didn't know how. Sorin took a steady breath, but did not break eye contact. He looked like he was struggling with an internal battle he was quickly losing.

"Everything…is not alright," Sorin finally said, blinking and moving his gaze to rest on Paris, who'd shifted to sit in his lap and curl up there. He helped his friend to sit upright, though he protested and settled for sitting next to him again. He ran a hand through Paris's dark hair reassuringly and sighed. "What is said here does not leave this room. I did not want any of you to know about this, but it seems I have no other choice…Promise me you will not overreact. Listen to it all first, before you say anything.

"Alright then," Sorin said, taking a deep breath when everyone had agreed to his terms. Cole had a bad feeling about this, as if he'd entered some contract with no escape. "Let's start at the incident at the mountainside, that's the easiest place to start. What happened there was not caused naturally, what no one has been able to figure out is that the tremors were caused by…supernatural beings, not of the world as you know it. While they fought, they caused the mountainside to give and crumble, killing all those people.

"As you know, Cole and I had those dreams. Cole dreamt of the cliff collapsing and killing everyone, I dreamt of those creatures fighting and killing each other. Those types of dreams…premonitions, if you will, are not naturally occurring either, though there have been various incidents in the past twenty years or so. It is a tampering of the balance of nature. You see, when something like that happens, a person receives a premonition and manages to save themselves and others from that horrible fate, karma comes back to get them. Everyone will die a painful death, the retribution for escaping and messing with the balance of the world. Essentially, _Death_ will return for the survivors in some manner of time.

"Don't give me that look, I'll explain. You can cheat Death again and again, but it will always return for the debt you owe it. '_Death is the debt all men pay_,' that was in a movie, wasn't it? To cheat it for good you must _recreate_ life, though I'm not so sure how that works. Now, as to how I know all this…please don't be too angry. There is nothing to escape _being_ Death just as you cannot _cheat_ Death…Paris told me this, he knows this, because he _is_ Death. Plain and simple, I'm sorry…no, stop it, _don't_! It's not his fault!"

Cole truly didn't know any words that could describe how he felt. He could have said he felt angry, betrayed, and outraged, along with a whole slew of others, but none could summarize the emotion raging through his head when he attacked Paris and almost broke the frail boy's bones. He hadn't realized how delicate Paris really was until he pinned and repeatedly slammed him into the wooden floor. Though Cole wanted nothing more than to hurt him until _he_ was dead, the compassionate section of his brain brought his beating to an abrupt halt when Paris started to cry hysterically. It wasn't a normal cry, Cole wouldn't have stopped for that. Paris cried in terror, remembering some horrific event Cole had no knowledge of, though he'd invoked the old pain to return.

_"Nu, nu, stai, vă rog! Lasă-mă în pace!__"_ Cole couldn't understand the Romanian words, though he understood that Paris wasn't talking to him, but to some assailant in the past who'd hurt him in a way similar to Cole's assault. The shock of that sudden attack wore off and returned time in the room to normal. Sorin immediately shoved Cole away and collapsed at Paris's side, pulling the crying boy into his arms and whispering into his ear. He took a moment to glare at Cole, an incredibly uncharacteristic act as far as Cole knew him. Seeing the two boys together, Cole had the notion that he didn't know much about Sorin after all. He'd thought that they were friends, Andrei had even confirmed how much it helped to have such caring friends in America, but he could tell that they were leagues apart.

"This isn't his fault, he was born this way. He exists to be an embodiment of death and karma, virtues no one can escape. He doesn't have any more power to alter the rules of the universe as you do. There is nothing you can do to change the fact that you are born the way you are born, human or animal or not, _why can't you understand that?_" Sorin said, half angry and half devastated. He didn't even seem as upset about whatever incident Cole had made Paris remember as much as that. His voice was enough to make Cole somewhat guilty, but he remembered the premonition he'd had, remembered the screaming and the gore, and steeled his heart the best he could.

"It isn't _fair_, that's why! I know the world isn't fair, that's why terrible things happen to people, but why did we have to get those visions, huh? If we didn't get those visions we would have died according to _his_ plan. At least, at least we would have died thinking you were still our friend," Cole rattled off, just angry and not really aware of what he was saying. Sorin didn't seem hurt by his words, though he understood them and wasn't that angry. He leaned forward and made sure that he'd soothed Paris to sleep before he carried the boy to the bedroom and returned, looking worn and tired. Sorin walked over, sharing a glance at his brother, who sat calm through it all. "How do you know Paris anyways? It can't be coincidence, you didn't take the news badly…"

"…Paris and I have know each other for many years. I don't suppose I can lie about this when you figure out that I won't die when it's my turn," Sorin admitted, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "It's difficult to understand, this is the best way I can think of to explain it. A man called Chesterton once wrote, '_Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist_'. Assume true that dragons exist, and assume true that I am a phoenix. I cannot truly die. If I am killed I turn to flames and am reborn, the same as I am right now. I was born to the phoenixes that reside in Romania, I grew up in Romania as a regular person. No one notices a child in the orphanages there, until the other nations found out about them. That is why Andrei and I came to America, because life in Romania is hard and here there is opportunity. We aren't much different from everyone else, really."

"I…I saw you in my dream, you were a flaming bird, it was white and blue, is that really you?" Cole said, his voice a little hollow and stuck in disbelief. Sorin glanced at him and nodded. He fumbled with his shirt sleeves for a moment before answering Cole's real question. "So how do you know Paris?"

"Paris was born, created, whatever you'd like to call it, by an entity that once controlled life and death. Centuries ago his mortal body was killed by humans and he refused to truly return to the world. Without a physical entity the balance of nature became distorted and to escape some disaster, he created two other entities, one for death, one for life. The entity had lost much of his power when he was killed, however, and every few centuries he creates a new set of twins, if you will, leaving the old ones to decide whether they would like to live as before or die as a mortal. Paris isn't that old compared to his siblings. He was born in Romania and with no parents, he was raised in an orphanage. Since my family takes to living in the various orphanages to lie low, I met him many years ago and we became friends," Sorin said, smiling faintly at some fond memory. Cole didn't know how much he could take as the truth, though Sorin did not seem like a person to lie.

"The balance of nature has been disrupted lately, however, since someone is allowing humans to see their futures and escape the debt they owe. That is why Paris has come to America, because that threat is here and it is his duty to ensure the balance does not tip the scale…To be truthful, Andrei and I came to America because we did something very bad in Romania. We killed the people who'd hurt us so many times over and it wasn't safe anymore. They always hurt us, they always hurt Paris, and we couldn't stand it anymore…We had to leave quickly, so I didn't get to talk to Paris. I was surprised that Andrei went back. It was dangerous." Sorin inclined his head towards Andrei in thanks before glancing at everyone's reactions, which were more shell-shocked than anything.

"Listen, I'm sorry things turned out like this, I really am, you're all my friends, but there's nothing you can do. You can try to find out how to recreate life and stay alive in the process, but that's where my knowledge ends. I can't help you, even though I really would like to, because I have to help Paris find whoever is making people have these premonitions." Sorin seemed genuinely apologetic, but Cole was angry, angry that their friend would ditch them when they could die and Paris couldn't. Sorin noticed that, but kept quiet. The silence was becoming awkward when he rose and excused himself, going to the bedroom. "I'm sorry, I know my obligations, I can't leave him."

Cole and his friends sat in silence, overwhelmed and confused. Cole sat down next to Mary and hugged her as she laid her head against his shoulder. Clara seemed very shaken, but still not totally there, and Tracey hugged her, too. On the floor the cups containing water had spilled in the scuffle and Andrei moved to clean the mess before the water set into the wood. The last thing he needed was wood rot, he commented. No one really noticed him as he moved about the room and acted as if everything were normal.

"Please don't become too offended," Andrei said as he made his rounds, paraphrasing his previous words. He did not glance up from his tasks. "Sorin and Paris are very close. Perhaps you do not know how close they are, I wouldn't expect you to know unless you studied the atrocities in Romania. It is much easier to turn a blind eye and remain ignorant. The orphanages there were often riddled with starvation and abuse, both physical and sexual. The staff does not care about the children under their hands in the least. No one really cares about the children in those institutes. Come, maybe you'll understand this way."

Andrei placed the dishrag in the sink and walked towards the bedroom, motioning for them to come over, though Tracey remained on the couch with Clara. Cole couldn't really believe what was happening in his life. He figured that he _would_ have some sort of a mental breakdown later. So much for the promise he made with his parents. Maybe he would be able to escape a lecture if he was upset enough. If he told his parents that it was very likely that he would die soon they might let it go or they might ship him off to a mental institute. The idea of being locked in a padded cell all day was only half appealing. There _was_ less of a chance of dying there, but then again some stupid nurse could overdose on sedatives…Cole shook his head of those crazy thoughts. Maybe he was already going crazy.

Andrei had very carefully pried open the door and allowed Cole and Mary to see through the gap. A thin stream of light escaped the room, from a small lamp on a plastic chair by the bed that acted as a nightstand. Cole almost placed his hand over Mary's mouth to prevent her from gasping and giving away their cover, but he didn't think the room's occupants would have heard either way. Paris was still crying softly, but the sound was barely audible and Cole wouldn't have known that he was crying if he didn't see Sorin wipe away the tears. The two boys were too absorbed in their acts to notice the invasion of their privacy, even if the room was relatively silent.

What Cole saw was just like anything else he'd witnessed that day, something he couldn't believe though he saw it with his own eyes and heard the words with his own ears. Sorin and Paris were wrapped in the blankets of the bed and Sorin continued to whisper soft words to the other boy, little snippets of lullabies and mentions of happy days long past. Cole never needed to know Romanian to understand what passed between the two. Their actions alone gave him enough indication that they held each other very dearly. Sorin was over Paris, though the frail boy didn't seem bothered or scared by it as he had with Cole. He stopped crying and blinked sleepily at Sorin, who murmured something and leaned down until their foreheads touched. Cole pulled away from the door when Sorin had shifted his position and thought that he would never see him in the same away again, not that the recent news of their deaths didn't change his image of him.

"Are they, are they…?" Cole said, dazed and a little light headed. He blamed it on the fact that he was certainly going to die soon more than being _offended_, as Andrei had suggested. He wasn't prejudiced or anything, his parents had raised him right, but the shock of the day's events were a little too much to handle. Mary had taken it all very quietly, but Cole could see the worry mar her face and eyes, worry for everything that had happened. She didn't seem as shocked as Cole and backed away from the door as if everything were normal. "Are they _together?_"

"Yes, they're in the same room, but I'm afraid I have yet to learn America's casual speech," Andrei admitted, closing the door gently. He had a knowing smirk on his lips though, so Cole thought that he knew more than he was letting on. "However, if you meant to ask if they are _lovers_, then I would reply 'yes'. Strife has the tendency to bring people together and forge bonds you could not find elsewhere. Between them, there is not love or lust so much as companionship. This I know, this I should know, because Sorin is my brother and for countless years we have stayed by each other's sides. This is why you cannot convince Sorin to abandon Paris, no matter how much strain it puts on his heart to see his friends suffer. He cannot bear to see Paris suffer through his duty alone. Paris holds more guilt than anyone can imagine in his heart."

Cole blinked and stuttered a few useless words, trying to make sense of something, anything, that was happening. He wanted to hate Paris with all his might, but Sorin was still their friend. They came to his apartment to see if they could help him, so Cole couldn't bring himself to hurt Sorin by hating the one he loved. Mary was conflicted, too, appearing as if she wanted to say something and falling short of doing so. Cole was surprised when Tracey was the one to break the silence and stand furiously. Cole wanted to have the same reaction, but he couldn't.

"Why can't he do anything about it? If he's guilty, can't he stop this or something?" Tracey said angrily. He would have continued if Andrei did not sharply start to guide him out of the apartment, mumbling wishes for good luck and to stay safe. Tracey played basketball on the school team, but Andrei was stronger and taller, and he easily pushed him into the hallway. Reluctantly, Cole and Mary followed, pulling the still trance-like Clara with them. Andrei bid them a good day and was about to shut the door when Sorin emerged from the bedroom, conflicted and hesitant as he walked forward and met them at the doorway.

"It may not work," Sorin started, biting his lower lip, his voice low. He shrugged helplessly and didn't meet their stares. "Travel with us, to find that which caused these premonitions to occur. Let us see if the heavens will not pardon heroes. Paris thought that maybe, just maybe, if we can keep you all alive long enough to capture whatever creature alters fate, some force greater than mortals or anything that resides on earth might pardon you. It is a strange idea and I doubt it will work, but understand that Paris does not have the heart of a human. Mark Twain once said, '_Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it_'. Paris does not have a cruel heart, he does not want to inflict terror on any of you. That is why he offers this."

"What if we accept?" Cole said cautiously. He didn't want to enter some strange deal without knowing the consequences. Tracey huffed and almost stalked off down the hall, only Mary grabbed his arm and glared at him to stay.

"If you accept, my brother and I will try to keep you alive as long as possible. It will be very hard and difficult, scary, even frightening, but you will get a chance to live afterwards when now you will certainly die. We can convince the rest to come with us and they can be given a third chance at life, too. There is nothing for you to lose but a life you will forfeit anyways. The only thing you will lose is your innocent, ignorant view of the world, but maybe that is not such a price to pay if you value your life above all else," Sorin said, solemnly holding out his hand. "Binding contracts cannot be broken. Do you accept?"

"…We do." It was Mary who strode forward and held out her hand, sealing their fate. She had a determination in her eyes Cole could not remember seeing before, a protectiveness over all she held dear. Cole smiled, thinking that he was lucky to have ever met her that day in the hallway, by the mere accidental trip up that gave him his girlfriend.

"Alright, then is it decided. Tomorrow we will start our journey, perhaps to the ends of the earth, perhaps no farther than our backyards. You don't need to worry about convincing the other survivors, Andrei will do that. Just rest tonight and meet here in the morning, nine sounds good." Sorin smiled and waved as they walked away. Cole couldn't bring himself to do the same. By all means he should have exploded and demanded a more reassuring deal, but he had to believe in Sorin. If he couldn't trust his friends, he didn't know who to trust in the world. Even if it meant following their friend on such blind trust, he had to do it.

"Say, how old are you anyways?" Cole called over his shoulder before Sorin shut the door. The Romanian boy seemed surprised for a moment and then smiled mysteriously, more relaxed than in their previous conversations. He leaned against the doorframe and chuckled.

"Wouldn't you like to know? I'm not sure myself, I just stopped counting after I reached sixteen. That's why my body stays the same age, because when I stopped caring about age and acknowledged the fact that I would live forever, my body stopped counting too. Aren't we fascinating?"

"_Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them._" (Rose Kennedy)

* * *

**_Notes/References:_**

• I do not own any of the quotes. This one: "_The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living…_" is said by Cicero. "_There's rue for you, and here's some for me_," is said by Ophelia in _Hamlet_, Act IV, Scene v.

• Don't worry, the story has taken a rather strange path but there will still be death and hopefully, gore, if I can write it properly.

• _"Nu, nu, stai, vă rog! Lasă-mă în pace!" _means, 'No, no, stop, please! Leave me alone!" Again, this is taken from a phrasebook, so no guarantees it's correct.

• You don't like Sorin and Paris's relationship? Then leave, please, you don't have to read it if you're somehow disgusted.

• Clara forgot some of the flower meanings and backgrounds, which is _very_ important later. Her personality reflects Ophelia from _Hamlet_. Although she's gone a little crazy, she's still important. I used a website to find the various meanings of the flowers.

• Adrian and Cameron make a short appearance, but they'll be back.

• The entity of life and death is a reference to the Shishigami, the god of life and death, in the animated Japanese movie _Princess Mononoke_.

Thanks for the review!


	3. A Conscience Dwells in Every Man's Heart

_**The Tale of Radiance**_

_**Chapter Three:**_ "_There is no witness so dreadful, no accuser so terrible as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every man._" (Polybius)

Cole had a wonderful time convincing his parents to allow him to leave with Sorin and Andrei for some unknown destination after he'd had a mental breakdown over the phone with Mary. Difficult as it was, he lied to his parents and didn't mention the supernatural subjects, just that they'd been reminiscing. His parents refused to trust him with his friends, even when Cole lied again and told them that Andrei was over twenty years old and a responsible man. They weren't very convinced when he'd admitted not knowing Andrei's actual age and Cole pretended to call Sorin to ask him that, figuring Andrei looked to be about twenty four. He still wasn't quite sure how he pulled it off even as he was knocking on the apartment door the next morning.

"Hello," said a pleasant voice, certainly not Andrei's cold one or Sorin's friendly, neutral tone. Cole was surprised that Paris had answered the door, with him having been so upset yesterday. Even more surprising was the smile on Paris's face, though he stared straight at Cole, who'd brought him such horrible memories. Free of malice or scorn, Paris invited Cole into the apartment where Mary, Clara, Tracey, and surprisingly, Maureen and Katrina McLain had already arrived. Pearson, whose first name Cole couldn't remember, and Adrian and Cameron were missing. If the few appearances Adrian made were anything to judge by, Cole figured that the English boy wouldn't be stopping by any time soon. He didn't know if Pearson would believe a bunch of kids and that worried him, because the guide hadn't been a bad man when he tried to save those people in his premonition.

"No matter the circumstance, we weren't able to convince Adrian Earlson and Cameron Lynn," Sorin confirmed, approaching the group from the kitchen with more plastic and Styrofoam cups on a tray. He handed Katrina a McDonalds Happy Meal© bag and gave toast to everyone else. Cole figured that even though he and his brother were supposedly phoenixes they didn't get any more money than a regular pair of siblings trying to live. Cole's mother had insisted that he eat at home, so he declined the offer. "Silas Pearson, the hiking guide, refused to come as well, but Andrei is still trying to convince him. They are both very stubborn men."

"Do you…use magic or something? To convince people, that is," Tracey said, frowning at Andrei's persuasive abilities. Sorin paused for a moment and broke out in soft laughter, so Cole confirmed that Andrei was just the type of person he _really_ wouldn't want to meet in a debate. Maureen was still in shock about the situation and barely picked up on the conversation, despite the strangeness of the topic. She hugged her daughter to her chest and watched her eat with caution, as if she suspected that they would have poisoned the food. Cole wondered if his mother was like that sometimes, with the way she acted.

"Of course not, Andrei is just very persuasive, but he always pulls through, so we'll be seeing Mister Silas Pearson soon," Sorin said, pulling Paris alongside him on the floor. The smaller boy leaned against him and laughed. Cole supposed that Paris knew Andrei well, too, if they'd all known each other for more years than Sorin kept track of. The two looked as if they were best friends, he had to admit, but normally he wouldn't suspect more. Then again, he thought amusedly, it took him six months to figure out Tracey and Clara were dating. Mary had a field day with that.

"Did your parents give you trouble coming here? Sorry, I made you have the breakdown over the phone…your mother must've been furious," Mary said, her smile a little weaker than it normally was, Cole noticed. She was truly concerned though, even if she made it seem like she just wanted to pass the time with something to talk about. Cole's mother had cut their conversation short yesterday and Mary had seemed upset that she'd gotten so mad. Cole shook his head and shrugged.

"It's fine, you know how she is, overprotective and all…" Cole trailed off, glancing at Maureen and Katrina. The little girl acted as if nothing were wrong and in her world, nothing probably was wrong. She even got a meal out of the trip and got to meet some interesting people, so she was happy and blissfully unaware of her mother's worry and anxious stares, the nervous tapping of her foot on the wooden floor, the way she nibbled at her bottom lip and hugged Katrina tight. Even around Cole and his friends, all teenagers, she didn't act like an adult would. Cole looked questioningly at Sorin, who shrugged and waved it off with his hand. Cole was seriously beginning to wonder just how much he knew Sorin. "Where are we going first, anyways?"

"Oh, last night we did some digging around…well, Andrei did the dirty work. We found out that the creatures who caused the cliff collapse were dragons fighting each other in a centuries long feud. They seemed to have killed each other, but Andrei is positive that whatever is causing the premonitions is behind this. So we're going to investigate, I hope you're up to going back there," Sorin said, wrapping an arm around Paris, who hadn't said a word the entire time. He had stopped smiling and was genuinely serious about the ordeal, but he seemed content to stay in Sorin's embrace, just as eager to visit the mountain as everyone but Sorin was. "You have to come, everyone. It isn't predictable when the karma starts to kick in and the list activates. I promised to protect you all."

"Why are we betting our lives on a promise?" Maureen said shakily, as if she'd just mustered the courage to say something. She had a different, crazed look in her eyes than Clara, Cole noticed. "You're all insane children. If you just wanted to play a joke or have some adventure why did you have to drag us into this? We only have his word that we won't die, that isn't very reassuring. I think you're all lying, this isn't plausible, you're all just playing one sick game. I feel sorry for you, I really do, don't you have medicine you can take? This is insane…I'm not going back there with you, my daughter still has nightmares and she doesn't even know what's happening…"

"Sorin wouldn't break his promise so easily…" Paris muttered, laying his head against Sorin's chest and playing with the hem of his shirt. Cole was surprised that Paris had spoken, though he wasn't so surprised that he stood up for his friend when Sorin did the same yesterday. Maureen glared at Paris with all her might for his comment. He didn't take notice, his eyes focused upon Sorin's hands, which he took a new interest in, like a restless child. He softly intertwined their hands and didn't release them. "I know him, he's an honorable person…you can trust him, he'll protect you with his life, no matter the pain it causes him. I know that personally."

"If you don't believe in all this, then why did you come? You could have said no," Cole pointed out, but the idea had apparently come and gone with Maureen, who acted as if she hadn't heard him. Cole had thought that she would be a calm, composed person, but she couldn't even keep herself together. Sorin caught Cole's gaze and made a gesture with his free hand saying, '_let it go_'. It seriously baffled Cole as to why she'd come if she was so paranoid about the situation. She might have wanted to see if she could change her mind about the mental state of everyone, but he didn't see why she couldn't just rise and leave the apartment.

"Cole, Andrei is very, very persuasive when he has to be, and if it means taking drastic measures, he will certainly do it. Don't blame Misses McLain, she wasn't happy to come here, but Andrei reminded her about her daughter's safety. She's a good person and it isn't very far-fetched to not believe us," Sorin said calmly, his voice slightly apologetic for his brother's actions. Maureen barely heard and scolded her daughter when she wanted to get off her lap and have Tracey tell her a story. She acted as if Sorin wasn't there. Cole figured that she was in denial of the situation and rationalized that if she ignored them, they'd go away and leave her alone. "I should warn you now, do not be shocked when Andrei arrives with Mister Pearson. Stubborn people tend to require more convincing, as you have experienced with your parents."

"You didn't…threaten her daughter, did you? I mean, Andrei didn't threaten her daughter, did he? I didn't think that he was that type of person…the type of person to hurt others…" Cole said, staring suspiciously at Sorin, making sure to avoid his deep blue eyes. Sorin shook his head lightly as if he found the notion silly and fondly raised his hand, still intertwined with Paris, and brought it to his cheek. Cole took a deep breath. He wouldn't have guessed Sorin to be a romantic and affectionate person on top of the growing list of traits the Sorin he knew didn't have. The list was growing and Cole questioned just how much of Sorin was a mask and how much was genuine. Maybe the version he knew was only a mask with a few cracks in the surface or maybe it was a whole mask after all.

Paris started like a rabbit suddenly as if he'd heard a loud noise, but Cole didn't hear anything past the neighboring apartments' activity. The room was relatively silent save for the exchanges between Cole and Sorin, who shifted and muttered something Cole didn't catch while he was trying to hear whatever had startled Paris. He eventually heard soft footfalls that grew louder, more violent, as they progressed down the hall. The door hadn't been locked and was flung open with force, straining the hinges to the point Cole thought the door would give. It didn't, but a body was thrown within the confines of the apartment, which was rapidly becoming crowded. Silas Pearson leapt to his feet and almost snarled at the figure that emerged from the doorway. Maureen shivered in anxiety, Katrina whimpering at the sudden commotion.

"See here, Mister Pearson, we're only trying to help, look how many people are here. I'm only trying to help my brother save all of you from a horrible death. I am a man of patience, but you have worn mine to brittle fragments. Don't be a fool, humans are fragile, nothing is invincible. Once more I shall warn you, be obedient and accept help when you are obviously in need of it or suffer the consequences." Cole tried to swallow a thick lump in his throat that wouldn't leave. Andrei had a furious, crazy glimmer in his dark eyes that was so frightening it was a wonder Pearson hadn't conceded already. Cole didn't think Andrei could be that fierce from what little he had been around the man. He'd always acted amused and insightful, maybe a little protective as an older brother, but not overly so. Cole didn't think that a person could hide so many truths about themselves.

Pearson hadn't gone down without a fight, that was certain by the scuffed up appearance of the guide, as if Andrei had dragged him through the town to this apartment. Both of the men were breathless from arguing and clearly irritated with each other. Andrei had won out, but Cole wondered just how resilient Adrian Earlson and Cameron Lynn were for having been able to resist Andrei's persuasion. Cameron had shown himself to protect Adrian, but Andrei wasn't human and did a good job of convincing everyone else. Adrian wasn't stubborn enough to stand up to Andrei, and Cameron had always seemed too polite to do so in Cole's eyes.

"We trust them, it's okay, they won't hurt us or anything, they're just trying to help, really," Mary said softly, a calming smile on her face. Pearson glanced at her, but ignored what she'd said and continued to mutter under his breath about how ridiculous the entire situation was. He rose and dusted himself off, making for the door, but Andrei blocked his path with steely resolve. He gritted his teeth together and made a motion with his hand, directed at Sorin. His younger brother instantly replied with a nod and pulled Paris to his feet, a serious resolve on all three of their faces now. Everyone rose as well, reluctant and apprehensive despite that they knew where they were headed. No one really wanted to return there even if it meant saving their lives. Too many nightmares had been centered around that place, so many that Cole wasn't sure that he'd ever return for a hike again, no matter how much he liked it.

"We'll get going now, follow us. Sorry, but we have to take the bus there, Andrei doesn't have a car. I wouldn't trust him behind the wheel anyways, he's got no hand eye coordination," Sorin said, walking quickly away from the apartment and down the narrow hallways, to the foyer, and out on the streets towards the bus station. He'd glanced backwards at Andrei, who kept an eye on Pearson to ensure the guide wouldn't ditch them, and smiled sweetly. His brother responded with a glare and an indignant huff Cole and Mary couldn't help but laugh at, despite the serious mood. Sometimes they still acted like siblings, not business associates, and Cole couldn't help but consider that no amount of time could change that.

The bus was crowded on a weekday and Cole felt out of place, as if he should be in school instead of there, with the elderly running errands and people going to work, though no one really paid them much attention. Tracey almost asked Sorin if this was some sort of magic, too, but Sorin scoffed before he could utter a word and laughed. People tended to mind their own business on public transport and turned a blind eye to everything else that went on around them. Cole noticed that no one else had even taken note of the fact that Sorin and Paris were still holding hands. They didn't seem to care and he wondered if that was because they were so old to the world that they didn't care what people thought about them anymore. Sorin had always been like that in school. Of course, Cole thought, Mary always had someone to impress, mostly the snobbish girls with ten boyfriends.

Their large group rode the bus for over an hour until they reached the final stop, the hiking faculties that were virtually empty. The entire community, employees included, were frightened of the site of so many deaths that the faculties were closed for an undetermined amount of time. The bus driver had stared at them as if they were crazy and Cole caught a glance of Maureen giving him a pleading look as she rocked her daughter to calm her crying. The driver recognized them as survivors and almost asked what they were doing there, of all places, when no one had the guts to ride this far. Andrei didn't give him a chance to ask and waved good-bye, a wide smile on her face as he reminded the man to return at his normal time to pick them all up, as if he suspected the man to leave them there.

When the bus had driven down the road Sorin, Paris, and Andrei steadily walked the group to the closed faculties, which they broke into, much to Cole's surprise. They returned with hiking equipment and Andrei happily shoved Pearson to the front because he was the guide. Pearson complained that he didn't know the back roads of the mountain, that no one really ever went there except for the biyearly maintenance checks, but Andrei wouldn't hear any of it and hung behind the group to escape Pearson's complaints. Cole found it funny that a middle aged man was arguing with a younger man in his early twenties as if they were equals, but he supposed that Andrei just had that air about him that made him more mature, in a sense. Then again, he thought, maybe that was due to his age.

"Hey, Sorin, do you know who's going to die first or do we all die at once? Maybe it'll be easier to look out for, then," Cole said, trying to make the question sound as casual as he could, though he failed horribly. Sorin glanced behind him and frowned at Cole, but slowed his pace to talk. He shared a terse look with Paris, who looked downward at the path below, focusing hard on his feet. Cole poked Sorin with a finger, reminding him that he still wanted an answer. If he hadn't done so, Sorin probably would have ignored him and forgotten that he'd ever asked at all.

"We didn't want to worry you with that, don't worry, we'll take care of it," Sorin said, glancing at Andrei behind them and Paris, who walked in front. They all knew something and Cole felt angry that they wouldn't share their knowledge when it could mean life or death. He voiced his opinion, but it only served to make Sorin steelier in his resolve not to tell them. He began to move forward again, to walk beside Paris, but Cole grabbed his arm and stared him in the eye. Sorin was surprisingly strong and wretched his arm away, though he did not turn away again.

"You know, don't you," Cole said. It was a statement more than a question. Sorin tried to deny it, shaking it away with a motion of his head, but Cole knew that Sorin knew the truth. He also knew that he probably wouldn't like the truth, but he needed to know it either way. The knowledge he did have, that they were going to die in order, made him thirst for knowing just who went first and last. The human side of him wanted to establish who would die, how long he would be safe for, selfish as it was. "When do we die? We deserve to know the truth, please tell us, that way we can all help each other."

"It won't bring you any peace of mind, it will only make you turn on each other and loyalty is what you need to survive…for your own sakes, it's better to remain ignorant," Paris said, twisting his head around and giving Cole a pointed look. Cole was surprised that the slip of a boy had spoken up and spoken with such resolve. He didn't think he was capable of something like that. He seemed much too frail for it, too delicate, like someone that needed to be protected. Paris had a sad expression on his face, as if he were reminiscing and stumbled upon an unpleasant memory. "It's okay, I know what the order is and Sorin and Andrei know too, you'll be safe. We won't let you die, I promise. After all those other incidents, I won't let you die too, not because you're Sorin's friends, but because I can't stand hurting people anymore."

"Don't argue anymore, just take it as it is and forget about it. We're here anyways, look down there. That's what caused the mountain to collapse, they're huge aren't they? I can't believe they killed each other…" Sorin said, his voice leaving off on a sad note as he gazed at the valley below the group. Andrei had a solemn stance as he descended a steep path, before everyone else, probably to ensure it was stable. He disappeared over the edge and Cole took a few steps forward to see farther into the valley.

Three massive, scaly bodies lay half buried by fallen debris on the far side of the valley, their blood splattered on the rocks and dried from the sun. Two had their huge maws clamped on the other's thick neck, the third with its claws at the soft underbelly of one of the others. They hadn't died by each other's claws and teeth, but by some other force that had ripped their hearts from their chests before they could respond. The equally massive hearts lay outside the mound of rocks and were filled with rot and probably, flies. The gory sight was worse than Cole's dream and the stench of rot in the hot summer air made Mary, Cole, Tracey, and Maureen vomit. To think that such magnificent creatures had died such horrible deaths despite their strength was amazing. Cole didn't think they had much of a chance of survival anymore.

"Come, we have to investigate that," Sorin said, ducking his head out of respect and quickly checking the steep path to make sure Andrei had scaled it without mishap. He allowed Paris to go first and followed after him, slowly and carefully. When he'd gotten half-way there he called for the next person to come. To Cole's surprise, no one tried to leave and ditch the expedition. Perhaps the dragon corpses made them think for the wiser, but Pearson seemed disturbed while he could have dashed off without a word. Maybe they were all just scared, Cole considered. He was a little frightened, frightened that whatever had killed those dragons could kill them too, and Sorin and Andrei wouldn't stand a chance.

When they'd reached the bottom Paris and Sorin trotted over to where Andrei already stood, before the massive hearts that had been half eaten by vulture-like birds. There was no sight of those birds and while everyone was grateful that such an omen was not hanging over their heads Andrei, Sorin, and Paris seemed worried about it. What Cole was more worried about was the stench of the hearts, which made Maureen and Tracey vomit again. Sorin allowed them to walk with him and Paris, who didn't look so good either, over to the corpses, which smelled slightly better because of the almost steel, cage-like armor that contained the dragons' rotting flesh. Sorin was investigating the gaping hole that had torn through the softer scales with confusion.

"Get him!" Andrei's sudden shout startled everyone who was in an awed silence at the bodies and Sorin immediately searched for the figure that darted through the gaps in the huge boulders, escaping Andrei. Sorin moved pretty fast and met the figure halfway where he cornered it against a boulder. Everyone moved closer out of curiosity and Cole could see Andrei approach from behind, irritated and wary. Sorin took a cautious stance in front of the figure and was backed up by Andrei. The figure became clearer as Cole approached. A fairly tall, thin, and tawny haired boy stood backed against the boulder, eyes wide like a frightened animal and visibly defensive. If he were an animal, perhaps a cornered dog, his ears would be pinned against his head too. Clutched in his hand was a single rhododendron flower, partially wilted from the heat.

"What are you doing here, someone like you, a dog? Here to pay your respects? Your kind don't pay anything respect," Andrei sneered, a rather cruel jest, Cole thought. The boy flinched, but remained cautious and kept his eyes focused on Andrei one moment, on Sorin the next. He seemed hesitant, but carefully crouched, keeping an eye on Sorin and Andrei, and gently placed the rhododendron on the ground. He straightened his back slowly and made to dash off to the side, lunging himself from his spot into full speed, like a sprinter. Andrei started after him and eventually caught up after they'd ran in and out of sight a few times, through the boulders and metal skeletons.

Andrei had caught up at a sharp turn and leapt at the boy, bring them both crashing down on the hard ground and wrestling for purchase. Andrei fought better than the boy's meager strikes and had his arms pinned behind his back in a matter of minutes or seconds, Cole couldn't be sure it went so fast. Despite the heat Andrei had a tie and dress shirt on and he took his tie off, wrapping it securely around the boy's wrists. Cole almost protested to his seemingly rash incarceration of the boy before he remembered that they were standing before three huge corpses of dragons and that no regular person would be back here.

"What are you doing here? Tell me, do you know who did this? Who do you work for? I know you don't work alone, so far away from your tribe, so you must have been banished and you must be traveling with someone else to get this far into the country. Who are you?" Andrei fired question after question, pressing the boy's wrists harshly against his back. The boy winced, but shook his head and kept his lips sealed as he squirmed. Andrei paused for a moment, conflicted over whether he'd told the truth or something similar, and lifted him to his feet by his upper arm. The boy stood, disheveled and awkward with his hands tied behind his back as Andrei prodded him to walk forward.

"What is he? Is he like you guys?" Mary said, following Andrei as he led their captive to the mountainside to wait for them to finish their investigation. He didn't want the boy to hear what they had to discuss, obviously. Even Sorin was confused, but he answered Mary as he stepped toward the corpses and examined them. Paris had disappeared to the far side of the bodies and Cole could barely see him through the metal plates.

"He's not like us, he's a different sort of creature," Sorin informed them, as if it were the simplest fact in the world and everyone should have known it. He paused and sent an apologetic glance behind him. Cole knew he wasn't trying to insult them, but his true nature was probably starting to show. "He's a fox, I believe, not at dog like Andrei said, though they're related and people often use that term for derogatory purposes. Foxes are known for being sly and clever, only ever looking out for themselves, so I'm surprised that he won't speak even though he knows what's coming."

"What's coming? What does that mean?" Mary said, a frown across her face. Trust Mary to question the ethics of things, Cole thought, when their own lives were on the line. He'd think that she could afford to be a little more selfish, because Andrei definitely wasn't going to kill anyone. They seemed guilty enough about death not to cause it. Sorin had noticed his little mistake that Mary had pointed out and he bit his lip. Cole wasn't liking the amount of things Sorin was hiding from them, 'for their own good' as Paris had put it. They were trying to protect Cole and his friends and the others too much, so much that they were losing their trust in Cole's eyes. He was glad Sorin slipped up, this way he would have to admit something.

"Well…that fox obviously knows something and someone who's interested in this incident, who knew that we were going to pay it a visit. That's why they set their lackey instead of coming in person, because they didn't want to meet us. Whoever is interested in this incident and leaves an omen like _that_ cannot bring good news," Sorin said, pointing at the rhododendron Cole remembered Clara saying that they meant a warning of danger. "Foxes live in groups, at least, these types do, and it's baffling as to why he's been banished, which might also serve as a threat. We have to find out about him. While foxes may lie, cheat, and swindle, if they owe a life debt they absolutely cannot break its contract. Since this one seems to have taken some oath of silence he must be deeply connected to that other person and we must know about it, no matter what."

"What does 'no matter what' entail? You won't…torture him or anything, will you? That's…that's inhumane or something…" Cole said, trailing off with the uncomfortable air of the subject. He couldn't really think of Sorin as someone who'd torture others just for information and Andrei, too, though Sorin's brother was a lot harsher than his younger. Sorin however denied the accusation and shook his head, seeming to be convincing himself more than Cole, who remained suspicious. No matter what usually meant even if force is needed, in Cole's mind. "Sorin, you're _not_ going to do that, are you? He can't have done that much wrong."

"It's not what he's done wrong to us, but what those he works for can do to us. He was wrong to work for them, I'm almost certain, so it is his fault, partially," Sorin said, again unconvincing as he started to focus more on the skeletons than their conversation. Before Cole could retaliate as he wanted, an ear-splitting shriek of grinding metal pierced the air and made everyone clasp their hands to their ears. Muffled by their hands was a scream, a human scream, not the sound of grating metal. Startled, the entire group glanced about wildly in search of the sound and Paris, from the other side, let out a cry of despair. What they all saw when they raced around the skeletons almost made them react as badly as when they'd smelt the stench of the valley.

Pearson had apparently wandered away during the conversation and climbed the skeletons, which seemed sturdy because they were made of metal. No flesh held the plates together any longer however, and they had collapsed, thus the harsh metallic sound they'd heard. Pearson had taken a plunge with the plates, but before he could fall very far into the mushy mess of rotting dragon flesh the plates had pinned him. Those plates were sharper than they looked. In fact, they almost looked dulled at the ends though that certainly wasn't the case. Where the plates intersected lay the body of Silas Pearson, but only half of him remained. The other half had fallen into the dragon's depths, severed by the plates that had caught Pearson as he slid downwards. The cut was clean, but Pearson had sliced his hands trying to escape in his desperate last moments. Blood ran from his mouth and his eyes were glazed over, though a faint tint of fear and hatred burned in them.

Paris was distinctly upset and at first Cole thought it was because Pearson had been trying to kill him, evident by the sharp shard of rock still clutched in his hand, but he found it different when Paris clearly mumbled about how he'd died. Cole didn't hear all of it, because his face was muffled by Sorin's shoulder, but he was guilty about Pearson's death. Perhaps Paris didn't control who died and how, maybe he only knew about it. They'd known that Pearson was going to die, but no one had been able to save him. It didn't help anyone's fears lessen. Maureen had hidden her daughter's face and was screaming hysterically, finally realizing that this was real and that they couldn't escape. Mary went over to calm her but Tracey couldn't do the same for Clara, who hadn't changed her emotions a bit from yesterday.

"We're sorry, we're so sorry, we thought we were going to be prepared," Sorin said, tears choking his words as he rocked Paris back and forth, running a soothing, but shaking hand through his hair. Sorin knew what Cole definitely wanted to know with this new change of events, but he turned away from him and walked away. Andrei had heard the commotion and stood solemnly waiting for them above, on the path where he'd managed to drag the strange boy despite the handcuffs. The boy looked sorrowful too. "It's such a tragedy, we wanted to avoid this, but I guess you can't escape at least some in such a huge conflict. It's growing bigger, everyone, it's encompassing more and more parties. I don't know how it will progress, but I'm afraid for the answer and you should too."

The ambiguity of the question and its answer hung heavy on everyone's minds when they traveled along the path back to the hiking faculties where they spent the time thinking in fear. One good thing they got out of the wait was that Sorin had reluctantly agreed to tell Cole about the order of death's will, refusing to refer to Death and Paris as the same entity. After that Sorin avoided Cole, as if he were afraid to agree to answering any more questions he knew Cole wanted to ask. Since he could no longer get anything out of Sorin, Cole spent the rest of the time quietly talking to Mary, trying to cheer each other with their worthless words. When the bus had arrived there wasn't much reprieve and the driver readily ignored the fact that they were missing one of their numbers and came back with another bound like a prisoner.

Apparently, with certainty, Sorin and Paris knew that no one would be killed until the next day or some day following that, so they sent everyone on their way. To Maureen Andrei had warned that running away would do no good, that she would only be forfeiting her life and her child's, which convinced her not to skip town and state. No one was worried about Adrian Earlson and Cameron Lynn, so Cole figured they didn't come next in whatever twisted list existed. Though Paris had guaranteed with tears still in his eyes that no one die yet, everyone was puzzled when Sorin asked Cole to stay the night. He had to find out about that list, but he saw how it could grate on people's minds and didn't tell them about it. He bid his friends a goodnight he knew would be horrible, filled with dreams, each more horrific than the last, and followed Sorin, Paris, Andrei, and the strange boy to their apartment.

When they'd arrived Sorin offered to make dinner and Andrei hefted the strange boy to the bathroom, strangely, with a minimal amount of violence and cursing. The boy didn't speak and barely made so much as a whimper when he was in pain. Cole heard the bathwater running when those thoughts were running through his head and wondered just what Andrei planned to do. They were serious about getting information so he couldn't see the point in giving him a bath unless they were just _that_ nice hosts. Paris, who sat next to Cole on the couch, smiled weakly at him. It was a bit awkward, Cole thought, to be sitting next to Death, not that he would ever say that aloud lest Sorin scold him thoroughly. It was also awkward because Paris was Sorin's _boyfriend_ or lover, as Andrei had said, and Cole didn't really find himself comfortable with any of his friend's girlfriends at school either.

"It's best to remain ignorant sometimes," Paris said softly, pressing his hands against his clothes. Cole couldn't determine his emotions. His hair obscured his face and Cole couldn't see his eyes. "Don't pay Andrei any attention, he'll tell you what he discovers. It's not important to watch what he does, you wouldn't like it. Just listen to us, that's all you need to know."

"I'm not just some dog that listens to one voice you know," Cole said a bit harshly. Paris flinched but nodded in understanding, turning his head slightly when Sorin approached with spaghetti in tomato sauce. Cole was surprised he'd whipped it up so fast since in their home economics class Sorin had burned the butter on the stove. He supposed that was just a part of his act, too. "I want to know what's happening, I don't want to be kept in the dark, it's frightening in the dark, we need to know what's going to happen to us. If we know, maybe we can help each other, take the burden off your shoulders."

"It's nice of you to think that, but it's not the case," Sorin said, shaking his head and sitting down to eat. "We have to move fast, efficiently. Most of the time, victims only realize what the signs were when it's too late. For example, we were so tied up in the dragon bodes that we missed the signs. The rhododendron, for one, which is a symbol of warning. The blood and the holly flowers Mister Pearson had at the funeral. Holly is seen as the drops of blood from Jesus in a Christian view. It's also a sign of warning. We just missed all the signs, but they're there, even if they're subtle.

"As for the order, it goes in the order you all would have died in the incident. That means, if you can remember who died before whom in your premonition you can know who to help, but not when. Paris can faintly sense when a person on the list is to die because of his…um, status. He also knows the order for that reason. I suppose we'll have to tell you, even though we wanted it to be kept a secret…Okay, the order goes like this: Silas Pearson, Katrina McLain, Maureen McLain, Clara Rush, Adrian Earlson, Cameron Lynn, Tracey Reed, Mary Fisher, myself, Sorin Vasile, and finally, you, Cole Freedman. Do you remember your premonition now? Please don't tell anyone else, you're supposed to figure it out on your own."

"W-what?" Cole mumbled, overwhelmed. He placed his plate on the ground before it spilled and clutched his head between his hands, trying to make sense of something. That little girl was going to die next? He couldn't believe it, but he had to, Sorin wouldn't lie now. He remembered, even though he didn't want to, about his dream. He'd seen Pearson try to save some others and die, he'd heard the screams behind him, felt Mary's trembling. He'd seen Cameron pull Adrian out of the way and screamed as Mary and ultimately, Sorin, died. Then he'd died and he woke up to this other nightmare on the other side of his mind. It made sense when he didn't want it to make sense.

A sudden screech from the bathroom startled Cole violently. He was already shaken from the news and the screech had taken him off balance so he'd almost fell flat on his face. Before Paris or Sorin could grab his arm and prevent him from investigating Cole was already at the door and opening it, surprised that he met no resistance. He entered and saw water splattered all over the walls, Andrei soaked and the boy beneath him soaked even more, lacking his clothes that had been tossed aside. A fresh set of clothes was on the counter, the only items that escaped becoming wet. The bathtub was full and water sloshed against the sides. Unlike when people took a bath or shower, there was no trace of steam in the atmosphere or mirror.

The boy beneath Andrei shrieked and thrashed, his face contorted in anguish. Cole observed with an almost scary calm as Andrei wretched the boy's arm behind his back in a most unnatural manner. Andrei had done something to it, and when he released the boy he curled up on himself and choked back a sob of pain. Somehow, he still had the energy to glare at Andrei, who ignored it and glanced at Cole in the doorway. He gave an apologetic shrug and stood, irritated at being soaked as he snatched a towel from below the counter and tossed it at the boy. The white cloth fell on his head, but he seemed to barely notice it in his haze, too busy cradling his shoulder in an attempt to relieve the pain.

"What-what did you _do_?" Cole said, his voice more hollow than he'd ever heard it. He blamed it on Tracey and his weird innuendo at school, but he couldn't help but assume something bad, worse than what it appeared like on the surface, not that the boy's hurt shoulder wasn't bad. Beside the bathtub Cole spotted a cooking bowl that contained a few remaining ice cubes and he could see little, almost transparent lumps in the sloshing waves. Sorin and Paris entered the bathroom, which made a tight squeeze for the apartment's limited space, but they seemed to understand Cole's interest in the events and didn't bother them. Sorin and Paris knelt beside the boy and dried his body, which Cole could now see was trembling. The boy didn't seem inclined to clean himself up while he was in such a condition.

"I've been trying to obtain information that may save your life," Andrei said, staring with contempt at the boy on the ground. He muttered a complaint and tossed the spare clothes beside Paris as he went to retrieve his own in the bedroom. Cole followed as he spoke again. "He's very stubborn and very loyal to whoever he works for, though I'm not confident it isn't out of fear. He isn't a strong person at heart, I do not believe, so loyalty and fear must drive his silence. I want no blood drawn, so I have limited methods of short-term interrogation, which includes what I have done to him. It is not so surprising, if you ponder it. Just forget about it if it bothers you. You will have to leave in the morning anyways, I have a feeling that boy's employer will make a visit sometime soon…he doesn't seen the sort to leave such a precious _commodity_ behind."

"Why are you referring to him as a _commodity_?" Cole said, anger laced in his voice as he followed Andrei into the kitchen. By this time Paris and Sorin had apparently dried and dressed the boy, and they now carried his still trembling body into the living room, settling him on the floor against the wall. Paris was reluctant to leave him there, curled up and vulnerable and hurt, but Sorin gently dragged him away to the bedroom, bidding Cole a soft goodnight behind them. "Why are you all so calm about this? You just…broke his shoulder! Why don't you feel any remorse for that, even if he has info that can save us? That bath…did you put him in there with _ice cubes_? That's…that's torture!"

"Be calm, Freedman," Andrei said stonily, stalking up to the boy, who not only clutched his shoulder, but his arms in general. He was freezing, Cole realized now, not only hurting from his shoulder. His lips were a bluish shade and his face pallid, even his fingers shaking as he tried to extract some heat from his cold body and the thin clothes he'd been given. "Despite his appearance, this boy is not to be underestimated. His shoulder is dislocated and if set right, it will heal and never hinder him, and he will have forgotten about it. You see, this boy is _very_ special in our 'special' world of mythical creatures. He has the ability to heal at an incredible rate, his cells dividing to the point it surpasses cancer cells. Somehow, this function is only activated when he is hurt or sick.

"Creatures with this ability are prized and sought out in our world, especially in troubling times, such as wartimes or oppression by tyranny." Andrei bent down and placed a firm hand on the boy's injured shoulder, eliciting a flinch of fear from his trembling form. With a swift moment Andrei set the shoulder back where it belonged and a terrible scream escaped the boy's lips. Cole was shocked that he'd done that, and even more shocked that he hadn't prolonged his suffering while setting it. "A _commodity_ is a suitable name and probably how this boy's employer acquired him. Don't think it's so illegal, our kind aren't as righteous as yours. We live by simple rules, the strong live and thrive, the weak die and become the tools of the strong. It's how nature works, though with the intelligence on a human level or more, it becomes dangerous."

"He's…he's…really? He doesn't look like it, I can't believe you treat each other like that. Why won't you become righteous? You've lived longer than us, you should be wiser, you should…" Cole trailed off, thinking of all the possibilities he could have said then. The idea that creatures so much older than humans did not follow just laws was incredible. Humans were selfish, so Cole wondered just how much more selfish these creatures were. To Cole, such things had been abolished long ago, when people realized how wrong it was. He didn't think it could still exist, and in American of all places. Under the radar, such things were happening…

"We are the essences of nightmares and dreams of humans, that does not mean we are better than humans," Andrei said, his eyes resolute and his hands clenched. Cole had a feeling he wasn't really happy with that fact. "This boy does not look like so because he is a healer and his body heals whatever ails him, which is the perfect cover to continue out in society. That is also why his kind are so sought after, because of their ability to carry out the healing process under any dire circumstance. Even if they are wounded they heal quickly and can heal others quickly. It is a wonder his employer allowed him out in the world to fulfill his will. I think his employer may be some sort of canine, that way he can track this boy no matter what. It would rid any chance of escaping.

"You should sleep now, don't mind me or him any longer. Go into the bedroom, Sorin and Paris have agreed to make some room," Andrei said, breaking his trance and motioning to the door. Cole hesitantly started towards it, glancing at the boy and worrying for him, despite his own situation he should worry about instead. The boy tilted his head slightly, indicating that he'd been listening the entire time, but didn't say anything and didn't make eye contact. He didn't even act as if he was in pain any longer, though he still shivered on the cold floor and Cole supposed all the healing in the world couldn't get rid of it. Andrei stared at him briefly and stood in Cole's sight of him. "Sorin and Paris will take you home tomorrow morning after breakfast. Just forget about what I've told you tonight, if it helps your mind at all. After today, you need to rest; the emotional strain must be taking its toll on you…Goodnight, Cole Freedman."

Cole wanted to protest, seeing that boy curled up and shaking on the floor and thinking of his life, what it must have been like living as a possession. Did he even have a name to call his own? Had he ever lived with his family or had they betrayed him long ago, like in those stories Cole read in the history textbooks about African tribes? Cole couldn't imagine a life without his friends and family. Even though he complained and said he hated his parents for being too concerned all the time, he really did love them, and it made him wonder if that boy had ever been loved for more than his abilities. Andrei didn't like Cole's thoughts, which he could clearly guess by his facial expression, and nodded towards the bedroom.

Reluctant, Cole retreated and walked into the dimly lit room, the single bed's occupants shuffling and trying to make room for him. At least it was queen sized, Cole observed, waving a hand in greeting as he climbed into the bed. Paris was squished against the wall, but he didn't see to mind too much, and Sorin embraced him, which left a little more room for Cole. He couldn't remember doing anything like this since he was young, mostly because all his friends either had qualms about it or slept too wildly. He didn't like waking up with an arm or leg in his face and once he'd been pushed off the bed, so he'd stopped after that. In high school, people in his class seemed to be overly conscious about what they did every moment of the day and his parents would never take it well if Mary so much as slept over. In Sorin's place, all that seemed to melt away.

"Did Andrei bother you?" Sorin said softly, so low Cole could barely hear him. He'd twisted around slightly, eyes directed towards the door. Cole bit his lip and made a thoughtful noise. "You don't have to understand us, our kind, that is, I know we're strange. After seeing what passes as 'normal', I know we seem like people out of a fantasy book. You just have to accept that things are they way they are, and don't question it. Fantasy can be hard to question with a logical mind."

"I don't want to understand everything, that'd probably freak me out more than I already am," Cole said, staring at the ceiling because he didn't want to face Sorin and his soulful eyes. Without facing him, Cole still sensed what Sorin wanted out of him. "Even though I don't seem like it, I'm freaked out big time. Maybe it's all a dream, I think in the back of my mind, a dream inside a dream. Maybe I'll wake up in the middle of algebra and the teacher will yell at me and you won't be a bird and dragons still wouldn't exist. Clara wouldn't have gone crazy. Paris wouldn't be here to take our lives, Andrei wouldn't have to hurt that boy. I wouldn't have to have a stupid conscious nagging at me that things like that are wrong. I mean, he isn't even treated like a person."

"It's called _ignorance is bliss_, but you can't stop some things in life. It's no use thinking about what-if's and what could have been," Sorin said, still in a soft voice, as if he were trying to explain it to a child. Cole wasn't pleased, but the fatigue was catching up and he didn't want to fight anymore. "…You're really bothered by that boy, aren't you? Every great nation in the world did the same thing, even America. Even your great country, where everyone wants to come to, where there's opportunity. Right now, care for yourself, take the opportunity we're offering. You're not a hero yet. That boy will be fine, whoever he works for will come to collect him soon and then his life will return to whatever it was before. I'm sure he's not miserable with it. After so many years, we accept what we've been given and become thankful for what we have."

"Isn't that called being optimistic?" Cole said. Sorin spoke deeply now, so that his voice matched his eyes. Had he always been like that? Paris seemed used to it and hadn't moved much, so Cole supposed he had.

"Yeah, I suppose you can put it that way, in your simple terms," Sorin said, a faint smile on his lips that Cole caught a glance of out of the corner of his eye. "Why don't we end it there, on a happy note?"

"_Evil is unspectacular, and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our table._" (W. H. Auden)

"_The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness._" (Joseph Conrad)

* * *

_**Notes/References:**_

• The hollow-ish dragon corpses are a reference to _Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind _by Hayao Miyazaki. I hope the dragon related gore was alright.

• Don't own McDonalds or the quotes. Two quotes this time because they both fit well.

• Foxes aren't the only creatures able to be born as healers, by the way. That character is a very old one of mine I'm fond of but never used.

• Of course, slavery is bad. Just pointing that out before someone blows it out of proportion for some reason. No one will probably find this offensive, but if someone does get angry, I can say I wrote this.

• Paris doesn't do anything, I know. He will, sooner or later.

• Yes, I gave away the list very quickly and bluntly. The list just isn't the most important part of the story, is all, unlike normal _Final Destination _stories. The important thing is staying alive and trusting Sorin, Paris, and Andrei, even if they're not too reliable right now. Just because they're trying doesn't make them right and all good. That's the point of this story, there's no definite line of good and evil, even if it does seem clear now. You don't have to like or pity or whatever to anyone.

Thanks for the review.


	4. Man Needs Delusions to Keep Him Happy

_**The Tale of Radiance**_

_**Chapter Four:**_ "_No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities._" (Christian Nestell Bovee)

Since little light entered the bedroom through the single window by the bed, when Cole woke the next morning he felt dead in his limbs and heavy in his head. In his own room he was used to the morning sunlight acting as an alarm clock. He wouldn't have woken at all if Sorin and Paris hadn't tripped over him trying to get out of bed and turned on the lamp. Once Cole was awake he couldn't fall asleep easily, so he grudgingly followed them to breakfast. He'd glanced at the clock on the wall of the bedroom and noticed it was already nine thirty, an hour past his normal wake-up time. The stress and concerned thoughts that took over his mind before he fell asleep probably hadn't helped that. Though he couldn't remember the details, he'd dreamt a nightmare. It was reassuring that it wasn't as real as his premonition and the same as the rest of his dreams, a blur of events that didn't make sense, frightening as it was.

Sitting at one of the two chairs in the kitchen and having a meal of cereal and milk, Cole suddenly reprimanded himself for having forgotten the boy from the night before, just as Andrei had ordered him. He could see the boy curled up against the wall, in a different spot than last night, still visibly chilled but asleep. The tawny hair that covered his face couldn't hide the streaks of blood, even from the distance Cole sat from him. The anger and sense of justice that had disappeared with his slumber returned and Cole spun on Andrei, who he realized was more tired in appearance than he'd ever thought the young man could look. He hadn't touched his bowl of dry cereal and was in the process of pouring it back into the box. Sorin was clearly worried for him. The emotion was apparent on his face.

"I told you to forget it, didn't I? He's fine, just sleeping…Go see for yourself if you're not convinced." Andrei had to add that last part when Cole gave him a pointed look and frowned, more unsure and stubborn than he'd meant to be. He was only frustrated about last night and the information he'd received and his emotions weren't very stable at the moment. Cole could see that Andrei was too tired to even resist anymore, though Cole didn't know why, and he got his way. He abandoned his cereal, which he hadn't had an appetite for anyways, restrained himself from running over to the boy. Maybe Mary and her sweet, caring manners was rubbing off on him. Before this whole incident, Cole didn't think he'd give such concern for any one person he didn't know like his girlfriend could. Mary was a good person. She volunteered to help those in need when Cole would have scoffed and never given the idea a chance.

He reached the boy and crouched beside his head, apprehensively peeking underneath his hair, stuck together in clumps by dried blood. A crusted-over dark splotch coated his forehead, extending somewhere into the hairline. There were flecks of it on the wooden floorboards, on the boy's hands that were tucked against his chest. Throughout Cole's observations, the boy didn't stir until Cole reached out and very gently touched his shoulder. It was only a tap, Cole could have sworn, not even a hand clasped over his entire shoulder, but the boy reacted violently anyways. He shrieked and tried to back himself further against the wall, swinging an arm out and smacking Cole across the face before he could pull away. He'd moved with the swiftness of a frightened animal and Cole could only stare at him, stunned at his bold move.

"He isn't so innocent now, is he? Granted, he couldn't land a hit on me, but he isn't as fragile as you think he is," Andrei said in a rather weary voice. Cole blinked and barely heard Andrei's words, too focused on the boy, who warily attempted to decide whether or not to regard him as a threat. He'd straightened himself out and sat with his back against the wall, eyes darting across the room and fixing on Andrei when he wasn't concentrating on Cole. Every movement caused his eyes to flitter, a faint trace of fear buried beneath the caution. Cole felt sick to his stomach, as if he were going to vomit what little breakfast he'd consumed. How pitiful were the boy's motions, from his eyes to his hands that grasped at whatever they came across anxiously. Thin shoulders were drawn tight against him, giving Cole the impression that he was small and weak. Cole still felt the sting from the boy's strike and he was sure his mother would scold him when it bruised.

"…Hey, I won't hurt you like Andrei did," Cole said carefully. He was almost startled when the boy's eyes widened in some form of an apology and fear of punishment. The fear was mostly directed at Andrei, Cole realized, rendering his words useless. The boy _knew_ Cole wouldn't be able to hurt him, but he was aware that Andrei would do that in his stead. Cole didn't know what to say to relieve the boy of those fears, because he could only speak lies. He couldn't stop Andrei, who was trying to protect him and his friends. Sadly, he realized that he and his friends were more important to him than this boy, who was suffering before him. He was beginning to realize a lot of things lately. He also realized that maybe lying would be alright. Sorin and Paris would take him home soon, after all. He'd never see this boy again.

"It's alright, really, you'll be alright, okay?" Cole heard Andrei scoff lightly to his left in the kitchen, but he didn't stalk up to the two and demand Cole stop talking with the boy. Andrei really had little need to stop him, because Cole didn't sound very convincing anyways. The boy was skeptical at his reassurance and wrapped his arms tightly about his thin body. He kept a watchful eye on Andrei even when his head rested upon his knees and his tawny hair covered his face. Cole couldn't near him without receiving a flinch in response and he felt horrible for scaring the boy so badly. He backed away when it became clear that the boy wouldn't stand for his reassurance and obvious lies any longer, relenting to Sorin and Paris and wishing that he'd been able to make a difference. There was nothing left but to return home and wait for doomsday to arrive.

The three boys left the apartment in tense silence. Traveling down the hallway, they passed doors to other apartments, filled with morning activity and most importantly- life. The corridor was dark on the other hand, dim, weak light bulbs illuminating the space just enough that Cole didn't trip down the stairs. He never wanted to know the identity of the grime slathered on the walls and flooring. He was sure those linoleum tiles were once some shade of white when they were currently dark grey and covered in a layer of dirt. It was amazing that someone like Sorin, who always seemed prim and proper and respectable at school, lived in such a horrid place. Through the walls Cole heard glass shatter, curses being throw left and right, and harsh pounding, all questionable sounds he didn't allow his already crowded mind dwell too long on.

Sorin lived on a higher floor of the apartment complex and Cole estimated that they were a few floors away from the foyer when footsteps approached from below. The staircase winded with the building and he couldn't see the person until they crossed paths. When they met, a rather handsome man brushed shoulders with Paris. He wasn't a young man nor did he seem as worn as Cole's father, who was middle-aged and worked a hard, meaningless job. He appeared out of place here, and seemed to be well-off, though he did not wear a suit and he muttered an apology to Paris, who'd suddenly stopped, as if he'd been slapped across the face. Sorin paused and asked if he was alright, and Cole glanced at the man's retreating back. Nothing seemed off about him. Maybe he was just visiting family or maybe he lived here.

"We have to go back!" Paris said sharply. Sorin was taken aback for a moment, before he nodded and returned to the staircase leading to the higher floors. Cole hadn't seen Paris so serious and harsh about anything before. Granted, he'd only known Paris for roughly two days. It was that urgency in his voice, which Cole knew so well, that made him follow more than his trust in Paris and Sorin combined. They might as well have been strangers, but urgency didn't need too much trust, only that gut instinct that made the rest of the survivors follow Cole, just as he now darted up the stairwell.

Paris and Cole were breathless when they'd reached Sorin's apartment again. Though they'd run the entire way that man had somehow beaten them and already stood in the doorway. He was passive at their arrival and allowed them to enter and seek out Andrei for answers. Andrei barely noticed their presence and stared stonily at the man, who wore a smug expression. Cole still didn't find anything special about the man, though he never thought Sorin was different from himself in any particular way either and he'd been so wrong about that. A brief, dangerous thought crossed his mind and he quickly shook it away, reasoning that the list couldn't progress so quickly, without Paris's notice. What little laws their world ran by seemed to be permanent and strict.

"What's wrong? Who is he?" Cole asked, rapidly switching views from Andrei to the man. Whoever could spook Andrei must have been a serious threat. The older boy didn't answer Cole's question, though. He acted as if he hadn't heard Cole and moved at a deliberately slow pace, crossing the expanse of the room and placing himself between the man and the boy who still shivered on the ground. Cole stupidly recalled Andrei's conversation last night, which he had been trying to avoid and forget since it occurred. Someone would be returning to reclaim their possession in the morning, someone that would track the boy down with scent alone. He hadn't given up the thing that probably cost him a pretty penny to purchase and maintain. Bitterly, Cole thought that the boy's 'owner' could have come to reclaim him earlier. He hadn't uttered a word to Andrei anyways, even with the torture he went through.

"Aren't I rude to intrude upon your home without giving my name?" said the man before Andrei could respond. His snide comment almost made Andrei snarl in annoyance. He was tense and ready to lunge, though Cole wasn't confident that he could match up with a full-grown man, even if he had some added, non-human strength. "I am Casimir Reid, a modest businessman who works in the medical industry. I'm a simple pharmacist and I've come to reclaim my belongings. It's a terrible shame he's caused you so much trouble, is there any way you would like to be compensated? He _promised_ he wouldn't run away and he's normally _so_ well-behaved. I suppose it was too difficult a task for him to leave a simple gift to the deceased, the temptation too great. He'll have to be punished; I cannot have him thinking he can just escape whenever he wishes without reprimand."

"…You enjoy hearing yourself talk, don't you, _Casimir Reid_, and aren't you rather _immodest_ for having said you _are_ modest?" Andrei sneered. Casimir confirmed his accusation without shame, a smile spread on his face. The expression quickly faded when Casimir faced the boy, who whimpered audibly and struggled to his feet obediently, though the man hadn't uttered any command. The boy's trembling hands fumbled as they clutched his borrowed shirt, lips parted as if they wished to talk. Judging by the boy's confused appearance at the sudden misconduct he was being accused of Cole guessed that Casimir was an eloquent liar. He was almost believable when he talked, somewhat like Andrei yet completely different. Bother were rather arrogant, but arrogant in their own ways. If what Andrei said rang true, no magic took part in the process and Cole figured that these strange creatures were just very persuasive by nature.

"Well, perhaps I am, but a little confidence never killed anyone," Casimir shrugged, nonchalant and apparently carefree enough to irritate Andrei further. Cole was growing a short temper the longer he talked, too. He couldn't stand seeing that boy tremble in fear and wait for a punishment he didn't deserve. His pompous attitude didn't help, but didn't bother Cole as much as it did Andrei. Sorin and Paris were very tolerant of him, surprisingly, and it made Cole look as if he were a hot-headed fool. "In any case, a little confidence would not kill _me_. No, I'm rather sturdier than that, I'm afraid, but I'm not here for a fight. I'm only here to collect what belongs to me so he won't do such a horrible thing again. He's so ungrateful, I took care of him when his family decided they wanted to disown him for murdering his uncle, who abused him and wished to kill his father."

"Aren't you a hypocrite? He didn't do anything wrong here, he was doing what you asked, we just caught him, so it's not his fault. Why do you want to punish him so badly? He wouldn't be here willingly, you have to know that!" Cole shouted, taking a few steps towards Casimir angrily. He was outraged at the injustice of their world even more than before when he'd learnt that they enslaved each other. It wasn't uncommon for people to abuse their children, Cole wasn't that disillusioned, but Casimir brought that abuse to a different level in Cole's eyes. "You didn't save him; you just made him trade one hell for the next! Why should he be grateful? You're just going to hurt him! Just because of his ability, you treat him like he's worth nothing!"

"Oh, and a mere human child is drilling me on how to treat _my_ property? What does a human child know about their own world, let alone ours? Your mind insinuates situations without considering the others. If you would consider the hell he experienced while with his family, my version of _hell_ by your definition is marginally better. You see, his family left no hope for him, no way out but the street or a prison cell. They would not try to help him past his confusion, his violent impulses, and the damage he received when his trusted uncle hurt him beyond his understanding. He loved using his ability to help his family, but when he murdered his uncle they bound his hands until the ropes created deep cuts and his skin healed over them. They blamed him, they said he was beyond help, that he would never clean the blood off his hands and he deserved whatever misfortune visited him thereafter.

"When I visited his family I took pity on him and saw an opportunity. Perhaps I hurt him sometimes, but I always offer a chance for him to help himself. When I was nursing his mental state back to health, I made it clear that I would take no foolish actions from him and he would be punished accordingly, but it would be a punishment he deserves. I would not be unfair as his family once was and I would not throw away such a precious person. So you see, I do not always think of him as a possession. I care for him, I really do," Casimir finished, gazing steadily at the boy. He had stopped trembling and was clearly remembering those events Casimir had described. The old hurt didn't show physically, but emotionally Cole could see many scars. That sort of hurt never went away completely, so he had read. "Come here, Shannon, we have some delayed business to attend to."

'Shannon' must have been either very loyal or very scared of Casimir for Andrei to let him slip past, quiet as a mouse, with no resistance. Andrei knew he wouldn't receive any answers because of that loyalty or fear, the night spent with Shannon had proved that much. Casimir appeared to have known all along the outcome, a smirk plastered on his mouth, which melted to a smile when Shannon reached him and frightfully pressed himself against Casimir. The man wrapped a reassuring arm around the boy, which left Cole wondering how their relationship ran. Shannon appeared relieved to be in Casimir's embrace above the fear of punishment, and he even smiled at him, tentative arms returning the gesture offered. Cole sputtered, wordless. He'd truly thought that the boy wouldn't have been happy returning to the person that owned his body and soul, this incident showing just how wrong all his assumptions were no matter what they were about.

"C-Casimir, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, can we go home? Last night was- was…I won't do it again, I promise," Shannon gasped between sobs in which Cole could spot no tears. For a brief moment Casimir glanced at Cole with the same smug expression he'd used on Andrei adorning his face. When he'd gotten his message across Casimir lifted Shannon's chin with his free hand and smiled serenely at the boy, who blinked away invisible, apologetic tears Cole felt he didn't need to be shedding. No one else but Cole seemed to be feeling the injustice of the situation, even Sorin and Paris, both of whom had expressed sympathy for the boy last night.

He couldn't accept that this was so normal in whatever crazy world they lived in. Cole's childhood friend's sister had attended college and graduated last year. He remembered reading in her psychology books when he was bored and waiting at their house about something called _Stockholm's Syndrome_, and he was sure he'd heard it on the news, too. It didn't make sense that Shannon belonged to Casimir like a dog and received punishments he didn't deserve like a dog, and was still able to call a place _home_ with that guy around. He acted as if he belonged to whatever family Casimir had, as if he weren't a captive. Granted, Cole recalled Casimir saying that he had taken Shannon off his parents' hands, meaning he probably hadn't brought him for money, but it didn't exempt the fact that the boy was still treated like an object.

"I'm sure you'll be a good boy from now on, don't worry," Casimir said fondly, running a hand through Shannon's hair as if he cared. The strange reassurance relaxed the boy and enabled him to forget Andrei's harsh torture last night. Casimir regarded Andrei with only a minimal contempt and scoffed at Cole's disgusted face. "I will ignore the fact that you have hurt him, as there is no lasting damage and I would rather expend my energy elsewhere, rather than on a young phoenix that wouldn't die anyways. I'm not a fool. You, on the other hand, you human boy, are _quite_ the fool. Don't bristle like a cat, it's very silly, and I only speak the truth. I haven't imposed my will upon this boy, to force him to cooperate with me. Why don't you speak with him to calm your nerves? It's a rather fine idea, if I do say so myself. Go on, Shannon, we'll be leaving after this."

"H-hi, thank you for worrying about me," Shannon said, a small smile spread across his lips as he hesitantly left Casimir's side and walked up to Cole. Cole had to blink at the sudden conversation and almost forgot to tell Shannon his name. He hadn't thought Casimir would grant the boy such freedom. "Your name is Cole? You shouldn't have worried, Cole, I'm not as weak as I look. About that bruise…sorry about that, would you like me to fix it?" Shannon leaned forward and held out a harmless hand, but Cole had to decline even though he knew that he'd regret it when he received an earful from his mother later. Shannon seemed disappointed about his decision and Cole decided he reminded him of Paris in some way.

"Why…why do you go along so willingly with that guy? I mean, you're not treated like a person at all, but you're close to him, really close, like he's your father or brother. Why is that?" Cole said, catching a glimpse of Sorin and Paris out of the corner of his eye and ridding his mind of the thought. The multitude of questions actually stunned Shannon for a moment and Cole was afraid that he'd said something wrong, but Shannon reassured him and claimed that he was only surprised that someone was so interested in him. He'd blushed when he said that, so Cole guessed that he hadn't really talked to many people in a real conversation.

"W-well, you heard about my past. Maybe- maybe Casimir isn't very fair in your eyes, maybe he seems cruel, but compared with my family, he's a saint. I'm not bad-mouthing my family, not all of them, just those who hurt me. Please try understanding from my point of view, which would be worse. Should I have stayed and maybe gone to jail and suffer there or allowed myself to live on the streets and suffer there as well? Then I could have gone with Casimir, who I would have to work for, but who would give me a place to stay and who promised that he'd only punish me fairly. It was more than I'd ever gotten from my family, who didn't listen to my pleas. The price of a little freedom when I never really had that in the first place wasn't a bad price to give.

"I wasn't sound of mind then either, but I understood enough to make a decision. I was violent and rash; I couldn't understand why no one had helped me, why I had to have my uncle's blood on my hands. My family thought I was hopeless, told me that I would never recover. Do you know how horrible that feels like? How horrible it is to have your family have no faith in you? I hope you never know, but that is why I chose Casimir. He's nice to me, nicer than I asked for in any of my prayers." Shannon finished with a light smile and soft eyes that showed Cole the happiness he'd received from his decision, no matter how controversial Cole thought it was. He couldn't understand Shannon still, not completely, because he hadn't lived that life, but he nodded once and accepted it for the meantime.

"Are you happy now? We have to be leaving," Casimir said, motioning for Shannon to return to his side. The boy happily obliged and waved good-bye to Cole, smiling at Casimir. Andrei stopped them just as they were making to leave. He seemed to have finally snapped out of his reverie, which had been scaring Sorin, judging by the look of relief on his face. Cole wondered if this Casimir person really was a force to be respected on such an intense basis, enough for Andrei to have lost his composure. There was no powerful aura that surrounded him, just a rather arrogant personality and high ego. Andrei refused to step within a five feet radius of him as if he were a poisonous snake, while he'd been up in Pearson's face when they'd arrived yesterday morning. Cole winced at the sudden memory that felt so far away, as if it had happened weeks ago and to another person. He hadn't the time to think much about his death and he was suddenly feeling guilty.

"You didn't just send that boy to deliver your condolences," Andrei said bluntly, to which Casimir's grin widened, a bit like the Cheshire cat, Cole thought with some ounce of humor. If he ever came out of this conflict alive, he wasn't sure that he'd make any sort of joke anymore. Somehow, he'd find some way to connect it to past experiences, so he figured that he'd crack even the humorless ones while he could. "What are you here for? You're not with whoever killed those dragons, that's for sure. Your kind doesn't work in such flamboyant ways, but that makes things even more suspicious. Tell me or I won't allow you to leave this place unscathed, regardless of damage done."

"You are aware that matters are quickly growing out of hand, I see…I do not wish for conflict at the moment either, shall we save that for a later date?" Casimir said. He sounded sincere beyond his mocking voice. "I'm afraid I do not know much, only that this is where everything shall begin or end. All the powers will flock here soon, just as I have come. I hope you do not intend to protect your territory, as it will soon receive many unwelcome visitors, some not as passive as I. Ask that little boy, Death in a bodily form…whatever is happening, no one can stop. No one knows what is to happen, except perhaps one person. That is why I came here, to pay a visit to the icy Kamui. It may do you some good to follow my example. If you'll excuse us…"

"Kamui, what does he have to do with this? There _is_ a war coming, isn't there?" Andrei said, strangely urgent all of a sudden. Casimir gave him a final, mysterious look before he left. With his arrival and departure came more questions than answers, though what Cole was really concerned about was the mention of a war. It sounded as if it would be an explosive war, too. The last time that had happened to the human world, millions had died. Cole didn't want to start imagining how destructive one among these creatures could be, judging by what he'd seen of _their_ world so far. However selfish, Cole hoped that boy, Shannon, would stay safe. He hadn't seemed like he'd done anything wrong in his life but kill someone who'd hurt him, which was probably the most innocent offense he'd seen among their kind.

Not minutes after their unexpected guest had left, Sorin and Paris hurriedly ushered Cole out of the apartment and back down the stairwells. He sputtered questions as they went, but no one had the mind to answer him in a language he understood. The strange, rough words that left their mouths had to be Romanian. Faintly, he caught the names _Kamui_ and _Andrei_ a few times, but nothing more. The entire trip back to his house might as well have been in silence. Cole felt completely out of the loop and hadn't even received a farewell when Sorin and Paris turned to leave when they'd reached his front door. If they were suddenly going to be concerned about this war and a person named _Kamui_, Cole wondered if they would have time to remember the survivors. He had to know more about that list, if they were going to be preoccupied.

"Oh…don't worry about it, we haven't forgotten," Sorin said, as if he'd just remembered how to speak to Cole in English. A thick accent Cole had never heard before swathed his words. "We'll take care of it, we won't be careless and become distracted again, I promise. Look for the signs that inform you of the next death if you must, but don't lose sleep over it. There are so many other things you will worry about later…"

"Sorin, maybe he needs to know," Paris said softly, leaning forward and placing his hands on his lover's shoulders. Sorin's head was turned down and his voice, Cole now realized, rushed and nervous- jittery. Paris embraced him and sighed lightly. He lifted his head and stared Cole in the eyes so quickly he couldn't have avoided it. The apology was apparent, a determination overwhelming the guilt now. "Tomorrow Katrina McLain will die, from around noon to the evening. There is a way humans can stop this from happening, but only temporarily. You can save each other and then the list will move that saved person to the end. They are not forgotten, mind you. If you decide to do this, you must immediately be prepared for the next person's death, because it is likely that will come next. The timer intervals are difficult to guess, even for me."

"Wait a minute, where are you guys going? We'll look out for each other tomorrow but…what's going on? We're going to go to war? You're not telling me everything," Cole said hurriedly, stepping outside when Sorin and Paris made to leave. They stopped halfway down the sidewalk, both looking rather guilty and torn. Somehow, Cole figured that when they left he'd freak more over the fact that he had to prevent so many people from dying than a war in the making. Sorin and Paris's presences made circumstances change drastically, almost making Cole lose sight of his goals. Around them, it was easy to forget and become absorbed into their world, a world that was like an intriguing fantasy novel. The surprises were around every corner and every one of them was dangerous, so much so that it was a little surreal.

"You're not going to war, we are," Sorin said, realizing a second too late that he'd admitted what his fears obviously were. By his grim face, it seemed like he'd been given the death sentence. "…At any rate, this matter concerns our world for the moment. Right now, your world is ignorant and it is best it remain that way. I don't know what Casimir Reid was thinking. The last time a war of ours encompassed yours…well, we've made our peace treaties too. For now, stay alive, it's all that matters. We'll come get you sometime tomorrow, so if you can, gather everyone in one location. It's easier that way, to protect everyone. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Cole waved awkwardly as they left in a hurry and remained standing on the steps for a time before his mother shouted for him to come inside. When he entered, she was busy cooking dinner and greeted with him with a bright smile. He could only return it weakly and dodged her questions of concern, escaping to his room while she took the lasagna out of the oven. Cole had never been very physical with his parents and they were used to that, but he wanted to hug his mother now. He desperately wanted reassurance, from someone older than him. Mary wasn't enough, because she was a kid just like him and they didn't know any better about the world. No matter how much he wanted to, his mother would lock him in a mental asylum if he told her the truth. There were certain things she would ask that night, and he would be able to tell her certain things, but not enough.

Though exhaustion crept into his limbs, Cole had to remind himself that it wasn't nighttime yet. In fact, it wasn't even noon, according to his clock. Before he could collapse on his bed and stay there, he picked up his cell phone that he'd forgotten about these past few days and dialed Mary's number. They needed to talk, they needed to plan. He couldn't just leave everything up to Sorin, Paris, and Andrei. While he'd kept a promise not to tell too much to other people, Mary had to know the important facts. While he was at it, he wanted to know about that person they had been talking about, whose name started with a _K_. With the past conversation, he'd forgotten what that name exactly was. Mary at least, would be able to help him find out about it, even if it took spying to get the answers, though Cole had no clue as to where that person was located.

The phone rang twelve times before Mary picked up, and Cole almost decided to give up and sleep the rest of the day. Mary's voice seemed irritated, the same tone that she had when she was babysitting her brothers. The normalcy was welcoming and made Cole smile, although he did notice the strain in her words. He missed talking so casually on the phone and even managed to laugh a little at Mary's stories about her brothers and their antics. When their conversation turned a little more serious, Mary shooed her brothers away and they talked in hushed voices. After some prodding and reluctance, Mary agreed to hand her brothers off to their neighbors so they could meet at the park, something that used to be part of their normal schedules.

"Alright, thanks, see you soon. You won't regret it, I swear, you know how important it is…Hey, we don't have to call it spying if you don't want to, we can call it investigating for the sake of good…alright, bye." Cole sighed as Mary hung up with skepticism and hesitation in her words. She managed the news fairly well, save for the occasional gasp and near shriek, but she really hadn't liked his idea of tracking Sorin down and 'spying' on him. Cole hadn't told her about the war though, so he knew that it was understandable if she thought he was spying for no reason. He trusted Sorin, but he wondered if the war really had nothing to do with them or everything to do with them.

Cole shoved his wallet and cell phone into his coat pockets and hurried downstairs where his mother was making some side to accompany the lasagna. "Bye mom, I'm going to the park to meet Mary, I'll be home for dinner!" he said quickly, slipping on his shoes before she could stop and question him. He'd explain things to her in a more watered down version later, but no sooner than after dinner. He appreciated the concern, of course, but this was a little more urgent. Halfway to the park Cole started to run on and off, thinking that Mary wouldn't be in a rush to arrive when she should. There would be time to kill if he kept the pace up, but his legs were aching to run. He didn't want to stand around twiddling his thumbs either.

Ten minutes early never seemed to be longer. When Mary arrived from the main gates he almost jumped for joy, but he did hug her in greeting. "Is it really that important?" she asked skeptically. Cole nodded and tugged her arm to the direction she'd come in, to hail down a taxicab. He had just enough money for a round trip, depending on where they had to go. If it was across town, then they'd have to walk. He'd forgotten his metro card in his schoolbag, but his mother would scold him if he used it for anything other than school anyways.

"First, I think we should figure out some clues. Sorin and Paris said that they were everywhere, that they'd missed the first one because that boy at the valley had distracted them. I've never had the patience for mystery novels though," Cole said, halting at the curb to wait for a cab. Mary stared at him in more skepticism, though he was glad to see that she didn't think he was crazy for his ideas, just questioning if it would actually help. "After that we'll have to find out about that person they wanted to meet. I think…maybe we could find 'Casimir Reid', that would be easier, apparently he's a pharmacist. It's a better job than a fortuneteller, at least, that's what I think that mystery person is. He said he was going to meet that person, too."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so enthusiastic about something before…not that it's a bad thing," Mary muttered, considering what he'd said. She waved down a taxicab and leaned forward to tell the driver the location before talking to Cole in the backseat. He had no clue where she'd told him to go, he couldn't hear over the traffic and her low voice. "Well, if you want clues first, let's talk to Clara about her flowers. They have symbolism, so that's not so hard to interpret. We can find that Casimir guy in a phonebook, I'm sure she has one in her house. We can work from there. Are you happy now?"

"I'm way beyond happy. You're the best, you know that?" Really, Cole wasn't trying to flatter her like he normally did. Sometimes Mary would berate him for that. He flirted at school sometimes and she didn't appreciate the blunt flattery. She said that it made her feel like the girls who sought attention from guys because they had low self-esteem, which Mary had plenty of. Cole avoided it when he could, but the truth escaped his lips more easily since the accident, which he couldn't really call an accident anymore, not if everything had been preplanned. "Oh, I'll pay the driver by the way."

"Thanks," Mary said absently, nodding and staring out the window, her head resting on her hand. A faint smirk was on her face, even though she tried to hide it and act humble. Cole could see it through her reflection on the glass. "I think that flower the boy had at the valley was a rhododendron. Do you remember what Clara told you about those? You got one too, from Andrei I think…I know they're poisonous to animals…and which flower did Pearson have at the funeral?"

"Uh…She said that they're a warning and yeah, I got one from Andrei. I don't remember what Pearson had; I didn't even see him at the funeral." Cole shrugged and rapidly tapped his foot against the floor in anxiousness. He hated that habit almost as much as Tracey, who sat next to him in a lot of their classes and despised the vibrations. "Do you think they tell about how we're going to um…_fail _at life? You know, like not be successful ever again, that sort of thing."

"…_Fail_ at life, really Cole, that's the best you can come up with?" Mary said. Though her voice was still skeptic, she was smirking again and her tone had lightened up a little. Cole only shrugged again, sheepish, and returned the gesture. He hadn't known what else to substitute the word _die_ for and it was really important that the taxi driver didn't decide to take a detour at the mental institute. At least now he might have thought them to be two kids obsessed with fortune telling and who liked to read tea leaves and tarot cards in their spare time. "Anyway, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I think Clara will remember them all. Tracey said that she's taken to that kind of stuff nowadays. She even redecorated her room."

"A little extreme, don't you think? Clara used to be so…serious. Now she's serious about things she used to think were stupid…" Cole trailed off as they pulled up to Clara's house. It looked as normal as ever, he observed while he paid the driver. The white paneling was pristine as always, the shutters forest-green and the curtains matching it. The front garden was in bloom, though he thought it looked a little sparse, and the lawn was emerald green while the neighbors' lawns were dried and pale compared to Clara's. Cole swallowed a think lump in his throat he wasn't aware had formed and trailed behind Mary as they approached the house. A raspy voice to their right stopped them in their tracks first, startling them more than it should have.

"Are you two friends of that Clara Rush, who lives right here?" said an old lady, hunched over a cane with hair white as the paneling and wrinkly skin. Her voice didn't sound frail, even though her appearance was very much so. Thick glasses obscured Cole's view of her eyes, but he had a feeling he wouldn't have liked them. Mary and Cole almost forgot to nod to her question in their observations, though judging by her expression, the old lady already knew the answer. "Strange one, she is, be careful. She's a little looser in the head than I am, and I'm eighty seven. Every day she's out cutting them flowers and singing morbid stuff to herself. Whenever someone passes she gives them a flower and what it means. She been scaring the neighborhood kids that she has. Stays cooped up in her room, too. Her parents are at their wits end. Maybe you can help her."

"Y-yeah, maybe, we'll try," Cole said nervously, offering no promises. The old lady didn't seem to need promises. Cole didn't expect Clara to have gotten so weird that an old lady was calling her crazy, but Mary seemed to have expected it. As the old lady bid them farewell, he glanced at his girlfriend and she briefly mentioned having called Clara over the phone, something Cole had been neglecting. The time spent with Sorin, Paris, and Andrei was a whole different, detached world where he lost track of time and obligations. Mary wouldn't understand that. "Let's go, okay? Get this over with…"

"Hey, shame on you! 'Get this over with'? Clara's still our friend, you idiot! She's not an invalid or a psycho!" Mary shouted, smacking Cole over the head with a rather strong hand. He didn't wince, but was taken aback that she was so angry with what he'd said. Mary and Clara had never been very close, as Cole and Tracey were, since they'd know each other since elementary school. Mary had openly expressed her paranoid jealousy of Clara on a few occasions. She never wanted to admit that she was afraid Cole would like Clara more than her, but Cole knew what she was worried about. He'd never thought her to be concerned. Maybe hardship really did bring people together, like Andrei had said about Sorin and Paris. "Now let's go, we need her help."

Cole obediently followed Mary to the front door where she rang the bell. Shuffling and the sounds of a barking dog entered his hearing. An older woman answered the door, looking frazzled with her hair undone, and apron splattered with tomato sauce, holding a vicious looking Miniature Pinscher that probably wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of Cole. She greeted the two teenagers with a strained smile and between yelling at the dog, ushered them inside and up the stairs towards Clara's bedroom. They needed no direction, as their little group of friends tended to visit each other's houses often. The hallways never felt so lonely, Cole thought as they approached Clara's room. Once, her house was welcoming and warm. Now it was just chaotic and ghostly, even though the surroundings, right down to the placement of the furniture, hadn't changed.

"You can come in you know, I don't bite…Lucian might if you don't hurry though, she doesn't like strangers, as you can probably recall," Clara's voice said from within. She'd probably heard the dog barking and knew that they'd come. The mysterious affects were probably just on account of Clara's strange state. Her voice seemed to have reached a norm at that weird, flighty level. Usually she'd be laughing at how they were all afraid of her little dog Lucian, which _had_ taken a bite out of Mary once. Since then, they didn't leave Clara's room without an escort to ward off the little devil dog. She even had pointy ears and a scrawny body, covered in short black and brown fur. In short, she was a miniature Doberman, which Cole heard made good, vicious guard dogs. Hearing the backing from downstairs rapidly approach, Cole and Mary scrambled for the doorknob and stumbled inside.

They were very surprised with what they found. "Do you like how I've redecorated the place?" Cole's eyes bugged out and he almost choked on the flowery perfume smell that swathed the room. Clara was dressed in pale, pale colors and sat at her desk, which was covered in bowls and vases of flowers of all sorts, each arrangement different from the next. In Clara's hands were more freshly cut flowers, twine, pebbles, and a shallow, iridescent dish. Her garbage was full of cut stems and wilted petals. The entire room was one big incense shop. It couldn't be called a florists' shop because there were hardly any flowers that would survive more than a few days, except for the few that lived on hydroponics. Already, dried flowers had been gathered and put aside. Clara's bed thankfully was the only place in the room that wasn't completely covered in flowers, although some stray petals were scattered around.

"Um…Clara, what happened here…oh, I mean, we need to ask you something about flowers!" Cole had to quickly correct himself when Mary jabbed him in his ribs wither elbow. She must have thought that the first question would offend Clara, when the other girl didn't seem to notice it at all. She had a thoughtful, spacey look on her face as she considered their request. She probably hadn't been asked that more than she had heard if she was sane or not, so she happily smiled and nodded, pulling out a huge textbook from underneath her desk. It was labeled, _The Complete Encyclopedia to Botany_. Cole didn't think regular people brought those kinds of books, only schools and the like. It seemed beyond nerdy, borderline obsessive to him.

"Sure, I'd be glad to help. What do you need to know?" Clara said, smiling while setting the book down, which took up her whole desk. Cole didn't think she was capable of smiling anymore, but she still didn't look quite right.

"We need to know the complete meanings and backgrounds of the flowers everyone had at the funeral," Mary said before Cole could open his mouth. He was grateful; he'd probably say something offensive by accident again. "The rhododendron, for example, was given to Cole and later at the valley the boy there had one. What's its full meaning? Oh, and do you remember what flower Pearson had? Let's start with that."

"That's easy now that I have this here…Here we go…the rhododendron is associated with the words 'beware and 'caution'. They're poisonous to animals and make humans relax or have hallucinations," Clara said, flipping through the book. She didn't even seem fazed by the strangeness of their urgency or why they needed to know _everyone's_ flowers. Clara reminded Cole of a computer right now, unquestioning and efficient. In the meantime, Mary was taking fervent notes on what she said. "That's all you need to know on rhododendrons, right? Pearson…you mean Silas Pearson, the guide who died? He had holly, which is like mistletoe! According to page three hundred thirty-three, holly symbolizes defense, happiness in the home, and predictions. Holly was once believed to ward off evil spirits and protect the home. Romans decorated their homes with it during their mid-winter festival. The book also says, quote, '_In Christianity, the pointed leaves represented the crown of thorns worn by Jesus, and the red berries symbolized drops of his blood_'."

"Thanks, now we need to know…um…mine next, I suppose," Mary said, flipping the page on the notebook she had in her hands. Cole gave her a weird stare when he realized that she hadn't had that before. Mary pointed discreetly to a pile of notebooks on Clara's desk that she supposed the other girl wouldn't miss. "I had asters, in case you don't remember."

"Oh, I remembered! Asters for love…and daintiness, and they're also the Greek word for 'star'. Some people think they're medical herbs. The book also says '_Asters were laid on the graves of French soldiers to symbolize the wish that things had turned out differently_'. Sad, isn't it?" Clara looked wistful, but she quickly shook it off and flipped through her book again. "You'll be wanting to know Cole's next, right? He had marigold and foxglove, I couldn't ever forget that. Let's see…marigolds are viewed as a gift of gold. They mean passion and creativity. In some cultures, people put them on their pillows to encourage prophetic dreams. Sounds a lot like you, right Cole? Foxglove is for stateliness and youth. It can help heart disease if used right, but kills if too much is used."

"Alright, next is…"

"_These violent delights have violent ends._" (William Shakespeare)

"_Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it._" (Helen Keller)

* * *

_**Notes/References:**_

• Morning sunlight as alarm clock=_Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler_.

• Two new characters, Casimir and Shannon! Yes, I know that Shannon is a girl's name, but apparently it can work the opposite way too.

• Kamui has two references. One, to a character from _Tsubasa Reservior Chronicles_, two to a place in the the awesome game _Okami_.

• Clara completely references to Ophelia from _Hamlet_, again. All the flower symbolism is taken from a site, so I DO NOT OWN IT. Oh, and it would be too boring if I gave away all the information about all the flowers at once, so you'll probably find it out eventually if you don't feel like looking it up.

• "The last time...peace treaties too" is a reference to any number of big wars. Sorin means World War II.

• The dog, Lucian is a reference to Luciann, another dog from a roleplay of mine. She's of the same breed and her owner's scared to death of her because he has cynophobia, the fear of dogs.

Thanks for the review. Any guesses as to what's coming up next?


	5. The Death of a Child

_**The Tale of Radiance**_

_**Chapter Five:**_ "_There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were._" (Dwight Eisenhower)

Clara and her encyclopedia might have saved everyone's lives if Mary and Cole could only figure out how the symbolism applied to actual situations. The only flower they truly understood was the rhododendron, which was obvious enough. With Cole's luck, there wouldn't be another red flower at the scene of the next death and they would be back to the drawing board. Right now they had twenty four hours before Katrina McLain was scheduled to die and didn't understand the meaning of her flowers, the bluebell and Baby's Breath. While the meanings went along nicely with the fact that Katrina was so young, they didn't necessarily shout where she would be killed or how. Cole had a sudden admiration for Sherlock Holmes, even if he was fictional. Author Conan Doyle must have been a genius to write such an intelligent character.

"Clara thanks for the information, but we need one more thing. Can we borrow your phonebook?" Mary said while tucking the notebook under her arm as she and Cole headed out the door. Clara nodded with a wide smile still spread on her face. She told them that her mother would gladly give them one, if they wanted to chance being with Lucian for a minute or two. At least she still had a sense of humor. While the simple temptation to leave was strong, Mary was the first to suck up her fear and drag Cole downstairs in spite of his protests. Peeking around the corner into the kitchen where both mother and dog were, Mary whispered, "You're the one who insisted that this person Sorin's going to meet is so important, so let's go, the dog is only a foot high anyways. Mrs. Rush, can we borrow a phonebook and the phone?"

Cole picked up the receiver in the kitchen, keeping a wary eye out for the furiously barking dog that Mrs. Rush was holding while stirring at the stove. From experience, he knew that Lucian could easily squirm out of her owner's grip if she had the drive to do it. Mary had the phonebook and quickly flipped through the thin pages, finger trailing down the lists in search of a man named Casimir Reid. Cole didn't know if he would actually be listed. The man wasn't human after all, and all those creatures that were a part of Sorin's world were secretive judging by what Cole had seen of them. The only thing he had to go by was that Casimir was a pharmacist. He could have worked in any number of places.

"Cole, I found him, he works at the local hospital, but what're you going to do when we see him? He doesn't sound like the nicest guy. I don't think he'll even listen to us," Mary said while she took down the number. Cole bit his lip and shrugged. He hadn't thought that far. There was no way they could win any sympathy out of that guy's cold heart. If Shannon was there, then maybe…but from what he'd seen, Shannon had the strangest restrictions on his life. There was no reason for him to stay with Casimir through his work. "We don't even know his hours. I found his home number and address too, but I don't think he'd like it if we just barged in…Do we really have to see this person Sorin's looking for?"

"That person's definitely important, they're going to _war_. They said that they were going to have a war that involved our world, too. A massive one, like one that happened years ago…and you know what? I think they're talking about World War two," Cole said in a hushed voice. Mrs. Rush was busy shushing Lucian, so she probably wouldn't have heard, but it was better to be safe than sorry. In their case, they didn't need to be carted off to the metal asylum. That idea wouldn't leave Cole's head no matter what he did. "If he isn't at the hospital, then we can check his house. Besides, I think, if I tell him about Andrei enough, he'll tell us what we need to know. They seem to have something going between them. They looked ten seconds short of killing each other. Now let me call the cab."

"Whoa, back up there," Mary hissed as she snatched the phone from Cole's hand before he could dial the number. She packed the phonebook away and stood in front of Cole, all seriousness in her stare. "If there's going to be _war_ and we're on Sorin's side, then it's not too wise to be giving away secrets about Andrei. If he finds out that we've told his enemy about him, he'll be pissed. They're supposed to protect us. If we give away stuff about him, even if it doesn't seem like much to us, we're just about digging our graves, never mind Death and all that crap. Call the cab, but I think we have to get him to tell us in some other way."

Grumbling, Cole took the phone back as Mary thanked Mrs. Rush. She was still oblivious to their conversation even though she had heard snippets of it. When she asked Mary if they were having a fun time doing a history project about World War two, a wave of anxiety passed through Cole's chest. Mary was a good liar, thank goodness. She lied to her parents a lot so she could escape babysitting duty and it was never too hard to lie to little kids anyways. Cole didn't have that luck, as he never had any luck with board games. He hoped that he would be a little luckier now that the stakes were higher than going bankrupt in Monopoly. He was forfeiting his life and everyone else's lives now. Soon, even the whole world might become involved, if the situation was truly that bad.

Ten minutes later the taxicab arrived and carted Mary and Cole halfway across town to a busy street in front of the Winston Hospital where they were almost hit by a car carrying a feverish girl. The lobby wasn't much better and since Casimir wasn't a doctor, Cole didn't know how they would reach him. The receptionist ignored the two teenagers no matter how many times they annoyed her. She hadn't brought security raining down on them yet, so that was a good sign. Before they could really get themselves booted out of the hospital, Mary dragged Cole to the waiting area to think up a plan, not that one would have worked at that point. If they didn't want the cops coming either, they couldn't sneak in or do anything drastic. They were stuck.

"Come on, there has to be a way, we've come all the way here and we're so close," Cole said, frustrated. Mary sighed and slumped against the plastic chair, patting Cole on the shoulder for support. She still carried the book under her arm and the pen she had used was tucked into her jeans pocket. It gave Cole an idea, though he wasn't so sure how well it would work when the receptionist already knew their faces. They could just wait until her shift changed…but he'd heard that hospital staff worked late and he had to be home by dinner. They'd probably be arrested for loitering if they stayed any longer, too. "Mary, I think I have an idea. Give me that notebook for a bit…"

"Ms. Yates, we need to give Doctor Reid this notebook, it is very important! No, I don't know what's in it, he said not to look and you know him, he's a strict guy…Oh, you don't know him? He _does_ work here, right? I know he does." Mary was actually very convincing. Cole watched in amazement while she spun a little tale to the receptionist, Ms. Yates. Maybe she should consider acting, if they survived this ordeal. She got the receptionist to look up, albeit grudgingly Doctor Reid in the computer files on the staff at the hospital and reluctantly told Mary that he was located in the adjacent building, on the ground floor. While they thanked her, she muttered something about brats and went back to work. "Well, I can't believe your plan worked, Cole. I didn't think it would, but I guess everyone really is intimidated by that guy."

"You pulled it off in the end. Ever consider acting instead of law? I mean, district attorney is _so_ lackluster compared to actress. That guy in our class, I forgot his name, it's really weird, he's so much smarter than you are and he wants to become a detective. You have competition there, while all those other girls can't act at all." Cole had _thought_ he'd said the right thing, but apparently Mary hadn't liked the bit about the smartest guy in their class because she smacked him over the head with the notebook and glared as they were walking. Mary was smart and worked very hard on her assignments, but that boy breezed through everything easier than Mary did, which was why she hated his guts. He studied alright, at least he wasn't a pure genius, otherwise Mary would have to skip schools or something, but he was also charming, athletic, and almost perfect. Perfection bugged Mary, especially the perfection that boy showed where he actually made mistakes, but looked good doing it.

"I hate actors and actresses. They're shallow and crazy in their own right. Don't you mention Light either, he's infuriating! I swear he cheats!" Mary said angrily as she nearly hit someone opening the glass doors. A spark went off in Cole's brain. He couldn't believe that he forgot such a simple name, especially when Mary complained about him so often, mostly when his score was better than hers in every class, even gym. Tracey had accused her of having a crush on him, but she proved her point when she messed up his foot under her high heels at the school dance. "Come on; let's see if that story will work on this receptionist. If not, well at least we're closer than before."

"Yeah, closer…" Cole said, starting to walk slightly behind Mary. He'd almost forgotten two things. Mary wasn't to be crossed when she was angry and no one was allowed to mention Light in front of her. The recent events had made him forget a lot of things that weren't important to saving their lives. This was important though, so he focused around the smaller lobby of this section of the hospital. There were less people and it had a serene air to it. One large wall made of glass opened to a green garden and let the strong noon sunlight through, so the lights weren't on. He didn't see Casimir's distinctive figure among the crowd, which he had thought as plain at first. It wasn't possible to mistaken him for someone else after that confrontation in Sorin's apartment.

Mary spoke to the receptionist again, in that convincing voice of hers. This receptionist wasn't as busy, so she took notice of the strangeness of the story Mary told her. She denied them access coldly and turned away, telling them to go play pranks on each other instead of working people. Plan shot down, Mary resorted to other tactics, none of which worked. Cole let out a frustrated sigh and glanced about the area again. There were doors with nameplates and while Mary was arguing, he snuck away with a group of people heading towards the waiting area. There weren't many employees around, so he was easily able to go along the walls and read the nameplates. None of them read Casimir Reid, even when he'd traveled the entire lobby and ended back at the reception desk. Mary had given up and sat at the plastic chairs, disappointed and angry. Cole was about to join her when a hand clasped him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Cole spun around, eyes wide as he slapped the hand away. It hadn't had a strong grip, but the threat was a bad enough scare when Death was out for his life. His eyes widened again when he saw the familiar tawny brown hair and soft hazel eyes that belonged to Shannon. Maybe in the game of life his luck was starting to brighten. Cole heard Mary approach behind him as he smiled in relief at Shannon, who seemed to have known that they were coming all along. He still couldn't believe that Shannon was actually here, as he'd guessed. The boy waved at them and trotted off across the lobby with a glance over his shoulder every now and then to make sure they didn't get lost in the crowd. At Mary's questioning stare, he quickly said, "That's Shannon, the kid Casimir's taking care of; at least he'll listen to us now!"

"Whoa, what's he doing here? Isn't this a little suspicious? Cole, answer me!" Mary said, her voice insisting as they followed Shannon into another part of the hospital. It'd be impossible to return to the exit with all the turns they were making. Cole bit his lip and prayed that Mary wasn't right. Shannon hadn't seemed to be the malevolent type, even if he followed Casimir around like a puppy and did what he was told blindly. Casimir really didn't have much hatred towards them. He probably saw Cole as a nuisance, with the way he'd acted at the apartment. He gained nothing from setting up a trap for them at least that was what Cole hoped. Even when Shannon had led them to the man Cole still couldn't distinguish anything from his face, not a speck of any emotion except for mild amusement.

"Well, I was not expecting to see you again so soon, you foolish child. What is it that you want?" Casimir said with arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe leading to the pharmaceutical office with its shelves lined with medicine. Mary inched away and remained silent, probably because of that strange aura Casimir had about him. He was aware of it and only offered them a creepy smile Shannon seemed to ignore as he stood at his side with a happy face. "If that _Andrei_ person sent you, I'll not hear a word of it. He can find the informant on his own. Tell him he's stupid to send puny little children on his errands, especially children whose times are running short."

"Andrei didn't send us here. He probably would explode if he knew. We want to know about that…informant person, though. If something's going to happen that involves us, I think we get to have a right to know what's going on, too. Andrei and Sorin and Paris aren't telling us, but it's important, isn't it?" Cole said as he attempted to maintain a steady gaze at Casimir. It wasn't working. He kept on blinking and trailing off to look at something less intimidating. Even when he stared long and hard enough, he caught the same amused expression. "What about you, anyways, you sent Shannon to do your dirty work, didn't you, you hypocrite?"

"Shannon is not as much a child as you are; he is capable of looking after himself. Even though he did get caught…" Casimir trailed off, glancing at Shannon, who winced and suddenly turned solemn. Cole almost winced with him, wondering if Shannon had his punishment yet. Whatever it was supposed to be, it couldn't be pleasant with Casimir executing it. He just wasn't the pleasant sort of guy. "So…Even those Vasile guys aren't telling their friends the truth? Well, it's perfectly understandable. The truth hurts. They only want to protect you, you should understand that. They're wiser, smarter than you foolish children, but since you've come to me, I might as well oblige. After this shift I was going to pay Kamui a visit anyways, perhaps we'll see them there? Wait around for a moment, ten minutes or so won't kill you. Shannon, stay with them."

"Y-yes, sir…um…Casimir…" Shannon's voice was below a whisper, but somehow Casimir heard him and diverted his path while Cole strained to catch the words even though he stood no more than two feet before the tawny-haired boy. Cole was grateful that the man's steady gaze wasn't focused on him anymore, but Shannon seemed hardly fit to handle the pressure. His hands fumbled with his clothes and he raised his head a little, shuffling uncomfortably. "D-Do you h-have to let them go there? C-can't you turn them down? Please, they shouldn't know, I'm begging you, don't bring them there."

"Wait, what do you _mean_ don't bring us there? You don't understand. We _need_ to know what's going on, this concerns us, too! It's not just us, but…all of us!" Cole took a step forward and grasped Shannon by his shoulders, some part of his brain thinking that force would make the other boy get what he was talking about. He wasn't being too terribly clear, seeing as he didn't want to get sent to a mental asylum for referring to people as humans and for mentioning a mass war with such seriousness. Shannon did understand, he could see it in his eyes, but he grabbed Cole by his wrists and pulled them off his shoulders with strength he didn't look like he had. Cole was reminded of the slap Shannon had given him, which Mary had commented about some time ago. Time wasn't really clear to him anymore.

"See, Shannon, they don't really care about what you have to say. Leave them be, let them get themselves killed if they want to, and don't question me again, okay?" Shannon looked hurt and apologetic as he stared at Cole and Mary while he quietly answered Casimir. Cole could see he was afraid of disobeying the man even though he wanted so badly to stop them from going. He was thankful that Casimir brushed Shannon's pleads away, but the man still acted unnecessarily cruel to the boy in Cole's opinion. Mary bit her lip and he caught a glimpse of her hands tightened into fists. At least he wasn't the only one who thought their relationship was borderline abusive, if not enough to warrant an arrest if they were human. "Lead them to the car and be useful, will you? I'll be there in a few minutes."

Shannon nodded, mostly to himself, and motioned for Cole and Mary to follow him back through the winding hallways. While they walked and dodged various medical staff and patients, Cole could see Mary opening and closing her mouth from the corner of his eye, clearly wanting to confront the boy ahead of them. Cole caught her attention and shook his head. Mary protested, silent and fiery, just how she always was. Maybe, he thought, she really did belong in the district attorney office instead of acting. She had a lot more passion for this than lying to the receptionist. Mary had a good heart and she didn't act or look fake, like that guy from school. She had her flaws and she worked around them without relying on genius. Above all, she had compassion and emotion, things Light didn't have. If the charming, perfect boy _did_ have those traits, he never showed them to the public.

"How can you stand that guy, why don't you say something, _do_ something?" Mary spat when they'd reached a relatively quiet part of the lobby, free of too many prying eyes and ears. Cole winced and felt sorry for Shannon, who now had to endure his girlfriend's wrath, even if the anger wasn't directed at him. The boy swung around and paused in his steps, eyes wide and confused, lips parted as if to say something. Mary didn't give him a chance to speak and Cole shrugged at Shannon's pleading expression. He really couldn't do anything when she got like this. "Is he even your legal guardian? He treats you so much like a dog, it's horrible! That guy can't be good for your health, mentally or physically. He's a…a…an insufferable bastard!"

"C-Casimir isn't like that, he isn't! He's good to me, you just don't live in our world and you don't get it. He's not a bad person!" Shannon cried out, his voice strangely pleading, willing Mary to understand him. His face was flushed with his discomfort and his hands trembled in anger. Cole forced Mary to back away from Shannon, well aware that the boy's strikes were abnormally strong. He'd only gotten a slap to the face at that time, too. Even though he seemed harmless, Cole had no idea if he could really get violent if he was threatened enough. "He helped me and I'm _so_ grateful for that. He's helping you, too! He doesn't have to help you, why can't you be grateful? He's bringing you to Kamui and you're going against your protectors' wills. They're acting to protect you and you can't be grateful about that, either? Cole, tell her, tell her what I told you, please. I can't stand this."

Cole did tell Mary in the lobby with a quiet voice so that no one would hear. Shannon refused to budge until he'd finished the whole story and made Mary quiet down and contemplate the information. While she rolled the story around in her mind, Cole wondered just what Shannon meant when he had said, 'I can't stand this'. He didn't know whether Shannon couldn't stand everyone's accusations or the fact that he could do nothing to persuade them not to visit Kamui. Cole wanted to know just _who _and _what_ Kamui was, anyways. Everyone that was supernatural that he'd met so far, though that was a glorious count of five beings, had some normal, _human_ occupation. Sorin and Andrei went to school, Paris was at an orphanage, Casimir was a pharmacist, and Shannon was his ward. Everyone was supposedly going to Kamui to learn about the future war, so Cole didn't exactly know what Kamui could be. He'd _never_ heard of any fortunetelling business here and he knew all of the stores.

"Well, it's good to know where your loyalties lie, but it's time to go." Casimir's voice entered from the side, smooth and approving. He almost sounded like a father talking to his son, _almost_. Except for the fact that Shannon's father had forsaken him and left him with this strange, abusive man. That man led them to the cool darkness of the parking garage where everything fell strangely quiet. Among the many cars resting was not a single soul. Casimir noticed Cole's discomfort and chuckled softly, although the noise was audible. Cole glared at the man, but his back was turned and they'd reached the car already. Cole and Mary filled in the back, with Mary muttering some offhand comment about her brothers, and Shannon and Casimir in the front. Cole narrowed his eyes when he saw Shannon smile brightly and give Casmir and light laugh.

The whole ride through he never thought to wonder if it was wise to have gotten into the same car with this man. Shannon reassured him though he didn't speak to him or Mary. Somehow, he felt as if the other boy mellowed down Casimir, almost making the man docile and caring when he wasn't scolding him. Cole also wasn't afraid probably because if Sorin and Andrei didn't pull through, they'd all be dead anyways. They didn't have anything to lose. The curiosity, the need to know what was happening to their world overcame all of that, however. War was a word that made him cringe inside now that it was so close. It had apparently been brewing for twenty years and no one had noticed, of course, which was another scary part, almost as scary as the actual event.

Cole recognized all of the streets and stores they passed as ones he'd gone to with his family and friends. Some they'd frequented before the incident, some he hadn't been into since he was a child. Casimir brought the car around the blocks a few times, cursing and showing the human weakness he couldn't have helped but to acquire over however many years he was alive. When they'd finally found a parking spot somewhat close to wherever their destination was, everyone unloaded from the car. Shannon took the lead, happy and still smiling as he hazardously darted between people and around fruit stands and parked bicycles. Casimir seemed irritated, but in a good way. It wasn't like Mary's irritation at her brothers, but the half amused irritation of a parent. Casimir wasn't worried about Shannon hurting himself and that was the only real difference Cole could spot between Casimir Reid and parents in the world.

Shannon suddenly stopped in his tracks, head lifted towards the sky as he waited for the rest to catch up to him. The smile on his lips faded and became solemn as he backed away to stand by Casimir's side. Squinting into the sun and wondering how Shannon could have read the sign with eyes wide opened, Cole made out the words, '_Ancient_ _Mountain'_ in the sunlight. Beside the words were oriental characters and small words declaring, '_Authentic Chinese Restaurant_'. Cole remembered eating here with his parents on weekends and with his friends after school occasionally as he stepped into the building. The walls were covered in wallpaper and pictures and shadow-boxes that gave the place an authentic, olden day look that had appealed to many customers over the years. Even though it was midday, the restaurant was in a buzz.

Casimir gave a discreet nod towards the manager, a strict lady who Cole had only ever seen shouting orders at employees over the racket of the kitchen. That might have been her regular voice, but Cole couldn't tell since she spoke Chinese. Mary shook his arm to snap him from his trance of memories and instead followed Casimir, who was already near the far wall. Cole pushed his way through customers who barely gave him a second glance and found the man shifting a heavy curtain aside. Cole didn't remember those curtains having been there in all the years he frequented this restaurant. They revealed a set of steep stairs traveling upwards to the second floor in a dark, dank corridor that Shannon took no notice of as he darted upstairs with barely contained excitement. The sight made Cole think that the pair had been here before and he was appalled at the fact that Kamui was here the whole time, in a place where Cole had grown up and where he had noticed nothing abnormal.

"Don't be offended, there's some magic behind this restaurant. Normal people simply pass over the details like this. If you ever want to see it again, just recall what the opening looks like and concentrate hard and it'll appear for you, too. A bit like that book, _Harry Potter_," Casimir commented, casual as he stalked up the stairs. Cole glanced about the area and saw that the customers still paid them no heed. Mary hesitantly walked upwards and Cole followed after her. Briefly, he saw the manager shut the curtain behind him and grin. He blinked and she was gone and then they barely heard the sounds from below, as if the curtain was a wooden door. While he was focused behind him, Mary stumbled and Cole almost walked into her, and he realized just how slanted and awkward the stairs were, impossible for him to walk straight. His hand gripped the railing for dear life as the slowly continued.

"Sorry about that," Casimir said from the top of the stairs, looking bored and not sounding apologetic at all. His arms were crossed and next to him, Shannon waited with anxious glances between them and the room beyond the stairway. "This restaurant was built on a slant, so the stairs are crooked and almost impossible to fix without expending a lot of money. Just wait until you have to go _down_ them, then you'll both be crying. Now hurry up, your phoenix friends and that death god are already here and Kamui is growing impatient. Shannon is as well, as a matter of fact."

Mary and Cole shared a brief look at each other, sucked up the lurch in their stomachs, and climbed onwards. When they emerged into the adjoining room, which was unsurprisingly small and cramped, Cole was surprised to see that Sorin, Andrei, and Paris really were there, and they seemed to be at least somewhat surprised about his presence, too. Cole hadn't thought that Casimir lied, but he was still shocked. With the all creatures Cole knew in the same room again, a tiny one at that, with an addition, the air felt even more dense and strained than in the apartment. Mary shivered and grasped Cole's hand, but she was staring at the extra person, the one everyone was calling Kamui.

There was little about the wraith of a man that indicated that he was one of those creatures outright and Mary was probably more confused about the matter than Cole. Cole suspected that Kamui would have dark hair to contract with his pale skin, but the man had rusty brown hair that curled softly and made him look very young, much younger than his green eyes suggested. Maybe he really could see the future, Cole considered while focusing on the deep, deep green that held some wisdom Cole didn't know people could have. Shannon's sudden movement caused him to snap out of the trance and remember, embarrassed, about these creatures' eyes and their strange force that held humans' gazes. No one commented about his mistake, and Cole even had to shake Mary out of her trance when he'd gotten his head together.

"Hello, Kamui, have you been good, have you been getting bored up here? I promise I'll bring you something next time, but you know Casimir, he's so short-notice. What do you want? I can get you flowers; it's so depressing in here." Shannon rolled off a list of questions Cole guessed that he'd been saving for a long time while he gave Kamui a friendly hug. The red haired man's stoic face broke and he laughed, patting Shannon on the back with a single hand wrapped in nude-colored bandages. With his cheer Cole and Mary relaxed, although Sorin, Paris, Andrei, and Casimir remained tense. They offered not a glance towards the other party and kept their eyes concentrated on Kamui and the stack of bright cloths and papers on the table over his lap. Cole glanced around the room and found a small kitchen in a corner, three doors, a love seat in addition to the couch Kamui sat on, and stacks of books on the wooden ground. It would have been homey if it weren't so dark, as Shannon had mentioned.

"Hello, Shannon, I've been fine and I've got everyone here to talk to, so I'm not bored. Flowers would be well appreciated next time. It's alright though, it's a gift enough to get so many visitors at once," Kamui said, a bright grin settled on his face as he rattled off answers in a manner Cole thought to be slightly robotic. His grin didn't match his eyes, somehow, and neither did his posture or movements. Shannon's bright smile and manner of carrying his body and emotions in comparison were all completely innocent as he babbled future plans to Casimir. Cole glanced between the two and frowned as he took note of some strange manner in Kamui, something that he'd never seen before, in the man's frail, willowy body and strong, clear eyes. He seemed almost less human than the others, even Paris who was Death.

"Can we get to business now? Even though those two are here, this is a very important thing we cannot put off any longer! For twenty years we've been ignorant of it! Kamui, Casimir Reid said that you would know something about this, please, what do you know?" Andrei said with a deep urgency, his eyes meeting with Kamui's. The red haired man broke the connection with a seemingly practiced ease and gave a carefree laugh as he lifted the tray over his legs and placed it aside. Andrei started in shock, an action so unlike him that Cole chuckled, and his eyes went impossibly wide at Kamui's lax nature. The surprise did not wash away and for once, Andrei seemed to have not taken notice of Cole. "You are aware that we might enter a war, you are the only one who has an inkling of the nature of it, and you're so relaxed? Please take this seriously!"

"Please be at ease, the war is beyond the horizon, but it has not yet reached its destination. Indeed, twenty years you have lived in ignorance and just a few minutes longer is no big deal. Live your live happy and free of worry, it is the only way we can remain sane and peaceful. Hatred you could wield, yet you would injure many…" Kamui trailed off and glanced pointedly towards Casimir. A moment later it ended and Kamui's seriousness left with it. Addressing everyone, he said, "Anyways, won't you have some tea with me? I haven't had such nice company in such a long time, everyone here has such dull conversations. Please, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Don't worry so much, I'll surely tell you everything in time for doomsday."

Shannon detached himself from Casimir's side and darted for the little kitchen, scrambling for mismatched cups and containers of tea leaves. Sorin and Paris must not have been as familiar with the man as Shannon, because they reluctantly took a seat and left Cole and Mary to sit beside Kamui. Cole found it interesting how Casimir and Andrei ignored each other, as if they weren't standing four feet away from their foes. Shannon soon came flitting over with a tray of steaming teacups that seemed ready to topple over, amiable even down to Andrei who had tortured him, who now declined his offer of tea. The boy wouldn't stop prodding Andrei into taking a cup until the phoenix snapped and backhanded him across the face. Mary and Cole started in surprise at Andrei's actions, and the watched as the remaining cup shattered on the floor. Cole was more concerned with the fact that Casimir did nothing in his ward's defense than the injury. Sometimes Casimir seemed like he was genuinely concerned about the boy, other times he could care less.

"Can we please play nice? Don't make me kick you out; don't think that I'm not capable. You, you're Andrei, right? Clean that up," Kamui said, rather irritated. His brows were furrowed and a slight frown crossed his lips as he folded his arms. Andrei didn't want to get on his bad side, of course, even if it meant giving Casimir something to laugh about, so he complied and started to clean the mess on the wooden floors, cold and orderly. Shannon, a crumpled heap, tenderly touched his cheek and winced, the smile on his face gone. Next to Cole, Mary fretted about Shannon's injury and was torn between risking coming between Andrei and Casimir's wraths or helping the boy off the floor. Cole shook his head and motioned for her to remain sitting. He didn't quite remember if he told her about Shannon's ability to heal, but he wasn't about to explain it here.

"Aw, are you alright, Shannon? My guests are so rude; I should go over there and smack you myself! Don't disrespect each other here or I won't tell you what you need to know." Kamui reached out and leaned forward a little, offering a hand to Shannon while glaring at Andrei. Shannon shuffled towards the couch and grabbed Kamui although he was able to get up just fine by himself. Cole guessed that it was mostly for a friendly support, but he didn't get why Kamui couldn't just get up if he was so concerned. He couldn't be that lazy. The man was a twig, even more so than Shannon who Cole found to be quite tiny. Kamui was almost unhealthily thin and his pale face didn't help that image.

"I'd like to see you try. He's an annoying little whelp, literally and figuratively," Andrei said, none too low in his voice though he kept his tone even. He didn't want to get into too much trouble with Kamui, even though Cole figured that the man could take a lot before he snapped, unlike Andrei and his quick temper. "Besides, you know how fast he heals. It'll go away soon, no harm done, not even a bruise left behind."

"Well, _you _have the audacity to say that? He still feels pain, that doesn't change with his abilities. Don't insult my friend either," Kamui snapped, his face somehow turning stony and harsh. Cole shivered, but he couldn't help but mentally repeat what Andrei had said about Kamui. '_I'd like to see you try_'. Obviously, Andrei was talking about Kamui wanting to smack him, but he didn't see confident that Kamui would carry out that threat, which was probably why he insulted both Shannon and Kamui. Maybe Kamui wasn't such an important person after all. There had to be other fortunetellers in the world.

"Hey, what do you mean by saying 'I'd like to see you try'? It's been bugging me for awhile…" Cole said, almost instantly regretting having broken the tense silence. The pressure was turned onto him and he chuckled nervously. Even Mary stared at him, probably because she thought he was crazy for confronting these guys, especially when they were having a spat. "Can't you just get up and hit him? It's not that I _want_ you to hit him, he's kind of helping my friends and me, but…"

"Well, before this idiot twists the story, _I'll_ tell you," Kamui said harshly, taking his hand from Shannon. He leaned down and harshly yanked the legs of his sweatpants up past his bony knees, startling Cole. He just didn't expect him to do something like that; it wasn't normal, _human_ behavior. People didn't go around doing that kind of stuff. Mary quickly got over the surprise and gasped at what the pants had hidden. Cole couldn't help but do the same when he saw Kamui's legs tightly bandaged, just like his hands. Small splotches of blood seeped through them and Cole really didn't want to know what was underneath. Cole almost protested when Kamui started unwinding the bandages, but he as the one who had asked, so he couldn't do anything about it. Mary choked up beside him when all of the cloth had fallen away, exposing skin torn and burned and mangled. His legs were a wreck; it was a shock that Kamui could remain so happy and ignore the pain.

"Don't worry; I take _a lot_ of drugs so the pain doesn't kill me, but it's enough to eradicate a human's nervous system, if not leave them dead," Kamui said, his head tilted downward at the wounds. He sighed and threw the bandages into a conveniently placed garbage can beside the couch. Shannon had recovered from the shock and bruise Andrei's blow left and now he eagerly reached for Kamui, distracting Cole for a moment. His hands almost touched the ruined skin on Kamui's knees and a soft, candle light kind of glow surrounded his palms and flowed into the red haired man. Kamui smiled softly and uttered his thanks. He relaxed a little and continued, but not before he glanced at Paris, who shrank back and grasped Sorin's arm. Comforting as he was, even Sorin couldn't get Paris to let go.

"Alright, well, you know that I'm a bit of a fortuneteller, right? That kind of gift, to see briefly or completely into the future, to even receive some feeling of events that have not yet come to pass, requires a hefty price. Unlike Shannon and his abilities, my ability is truly a gift, one I was not born with, but conditioned to have since I was small. Long ago I was taught to wield these powers and wield them well." Kamui paused in memory, recalling yet another life Cole could not begin to imagine living. "The price is that I am Death's beloved child. I don't mean that literally, Paris and I aren't related. Above all others in the world, I am targeted the most by Death and I am always on the top of the list, the highest priority. The real test to my ability is whether or not I can stay one step ahead of Death with my powers to save myself, for if I cannot save my life, then I am not suited to save others.

"Unfortunately, I am quite young and my abilities don't allow me to use them all the time, so I get hurt often. This was from an incident in the kitchen last week. I have a wheelchair and crutches, among other things in the closest, but I don't like using them and I don't have the room anyways. I'm constantly either in the hospital or locked up in here, if the wounds are really bad. I can't have the doctors keeping record of all these incidents. Hey, don't make that face, I'm fine, really! I've been living with this for over twenty years, since I was small, so I'm used to it…Oh no, did I make it worse somehow? I'm sorry miss, I really am." Kamui leaned over to look at Mary with a worried, half-amused expression. She was even more horrified than Cole. He winced and reconsidered if he should have brought his girlfriend with him for the reassurance or not. Unlike Cole, Mary retained all of her emotions during this whole business. She wasn't numb like he was.

"Well, well, enough talk, Kamui. We've entertained you, correct? Time to pay up, so tell us about this war," Casimir said, his head tilted upwards and a smirk on his face. Obviously, he knew more about Kamui than Andrei and it grated on his nerves. Kamui paid them no heed and resumed his strange grin, nodding. "What's with that face, Andrei Vasile? I've maintained an _actual_ relationship, so I _actually_ know what Kamui wants for his service. He doesn't need money, he needs company. He's forgotten to tell you humans that he's a schizophrenic, too. He talks to inanimate objects, so living, breathing company, especially this much at once, is a real treat. That's why I allowed you human children to come along and why I came at the same time as these phoenixes and death god."

"Hey, don't make these kids think I'm _insane_! So _what_ if I talk to inanimate objects? They talk back and it's not any of your business who I keep as company _anyways_," Kamui snapped in good humor. That grin hadn't left his face, so he didn't have any animosity towards Casimir. That really ticked Andrei off, but he stood his ground. "Alright, let's get this done with so you all can be on your merry way and stop insulting me and my friends with your rude behavior. Even by just standing there you're infuriating. Now…

"Basically, this is how things are going to go down _very_ soon as I have seen it. You have a fortnight until the war truly begins. There will be no possible way to stop it from commencing, so choose your sides wisely and prepare your armor. The dragon known as Agni murdered Prince, Prosper, and Chen, whose bodies I suspect you have already seen. After a fortnight Agni will set particular places aflame, though I do not know the location of those places. I haven't gotten out much," Kamui admitted. He pointed Shannon to the closet where he stored his medical supplies, which were vast and numerous. It made Cole uneasy. "Those places do not seem to have much connection. They are probably chosen for their significance towards Agni and his followers. I do not know much about dragons, either, so you're on your own for that. This Agni is also powerful and he takes many forms.

"After the fires, more and more of our kin will flood this city and the surrounding areas, no matter which side they are on. They will fight and there will be bloodshed. If you want to ensure this war does not become too out of control you will have to travel out of this city and into the world beyond, where greater powers still strike against the human government. If you do not succeed, there will be another world war and our kin will disappear again and leave the humans to destroy themselves, just as they did in the last one. I do suggest you make some overseas friends, it would work to your advantage…" Kamui finished and eyed everyone in the room, even Cole and Mary. Shannon had helped him bandage his wounds again, bringing a smile to the man's face. For a moment he just stared, nothing more. As a friend, I will tell you one more thing that I will not tell anyone should they seek me out. You know I cannot deny people their fortunes, as I have no real power to defend myself with.

"Agni will fall in this war and he will murder even a god along his way to his goals. I do not tell you this so you can stop it, because there are aspects of destiny you cannot change. What I see is unchangeable; however you may be able to lessen the damage. Heed this warning as well: Agni's fire is not a fire that can be extinguished by water. The ignorance of this will be the downfall of many, friends and foes alike. I believe it is a type of fire started by the chemical called _benzene_, which will burn until it dies and can only be contained. Several of the fires will be of this type, so I suggest you watch yourselves. Do not try to put the fire out, don't even go near it. It burns incredibly hot…Well, that is all the advice I can offer. Please use it well."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me that there's _another_ world war coming in two weeks and you're not doing anything about it? You're going to tell the other side about it, too, even though it might destroy the world? What's wrong with you?" Cole said reproachfully. He backed away as far from the crippled man as he could on the couch, having just a more little anxiety than what was healthy over Kamui's response. He really had to start shutting up or else he would really get into trouble. Mary felt the same way, evident when she squeezed his arm tighter than usual, a warning. Swallowing a think clump of phlegm in his throat, Cole waited for Kamui's response, but the man wasn't even looking at him. His eyes darted everywhere but upon the two human children next to him.

"Everyone in the world is a least a little selfish in their lives at one point or another. My abilities render me defenseless and force me to remain neutral, otherwise I would be killed for one reason or another. One side will always be unhappy with the result, so if I worked for them, they could kill me. Being neutral means I offer my services and insure my safety. Even among us there are rules and one of those rules is that claims of neutrality are to be honored until further notice. Furthermore, my ability is a gift that is proven its worth by remaining alive. I would fail my duty if I were to endanger my life. I would play into Death's hands and rest there eternally…" Kamui said, his voice soft in spite of Cole's accusing words. He spoke with simplicity Cole figured was the truth. There wasn't much reason to lie.

"Please, leave and begin your preparations. Let me leave you with this parting: it would do you well to form two fronts to this war. Divided we fall…" Kamui said, waving as everyone filed out of the room and down the slanted stairs. He focused his eyes sadly, lonely, on a vase that rested on a thin table across the room. As they departed, Cole barely registered the pain as he tripped and fell down them, too numb too think straight. Mary rushed to his side and Sorin quietly offered to drive them home. "United we stand…I wonder if they heard me, Emily? God, I hope they did…"

When Cole flickered back into consciousness he was no longer in the Chinese restaurant or the flat above, but in his bed in his home with his parents hovering over him. He never remembered seeing them so worried, except for that fateful day at the mountains. His mother ran trembling hands over his face again and again, and he knew what he had to tell her, even if it broke the promise he had made to Sorin. He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Mom, Dad, I have to tell you something. Please don't freak out, it's all so true, even though I wish it wasn't…"

"_Life is a game; play it. Life is too precious; do not destroy it._" (Mother Teresa)

"_Fate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity._" (Publilius Syrus)

* * *

_**Notes/References:**_

• The Sherlock Holmes reference came to me when I was watching _Criminal Minds_...

• 'From experience, he knew that Lucian...' comes from my experiences with my cat.

• The 'Doctor Reid' thing is from _Criminal Minds_. Pharmacists aren't called doctors, at least I don't think so.

• Light, the supposedly smartest boy in their class is a very outright reference to _Death Note_. Other than this, he won't be playing any big part.

• A tidbit: Casimir _is_ Shannon's current legal guardian.

• The _Ancient Mountain_ restaurant is just a reference to the many, many Chinese restaurants I've been to through the years. They tend to have some strange names in English. The fruit stands are also referring to the Chinese supermarkets.

• I don't own Harry Potter.

• The stairs are a reference to the stairs at my grandparents' house, which I was completely afraid of as a kid. My dog was, too.

• Kamui is a character that was really thought up on the spot as far as personality and appearance go. He isn't a permanent cripple, just an on and off one. His little flat is a reference to the place where some relatives live. He has a good memory, which is why he can answer Shannon's questions in such an orderly fashion. He's a slight schizophrenic, a reference to another character of mine with the same condition.

• Emily the vase is a reference to _Kuroshitsuji_, where a circus member talked to snakes and one was named Emily.

• The benzene comes from an episode of _Criminal Minds_.

• 'United we stand, divided we fall' is the whole quote.

• The quote at the beginning isn't for Katrina McLain, it's for Kamui, whose childhood was destroyed by his gift until he could no longer realize it.

Sorry for this rather late update. I wrote most of this within two days to make up for the lack of work. Thanks again for the review. I put off the deaths until next chapter. This was more important.


	6. NOTE

Though it's been probably a year since the last update, this was the first story that I put so much effort into and hate to see it end at five chapters when nothing has really begun yet. I did write an alternative to it for the '10 NaNoWriMo, but this one is still different and special in its own way. Instead of leaving this hanging, since the alternate story will never get published, I am going to edit it, replace the chapters with updated writing and new character interactions, and continue this story. Most of the important events will remain intact, but Paris' character takes a drastic change. For one, his name is different and two, his personality is the complete opposite of this version's. Shannon also gets a little make-over, including a name change. Cole won't be such a petulant chidl anymore.

Thank you to the person who reviewed each chapter and kept me going; now it's inspired me to continue where I felt I had to leave it. Seeing my old writing makes me cringe, so I hope everyone enjoys the new chapters when they come out.


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